.emacs handling multiple versions

.emacs handling multiple versions

[perldev]

Hey, gang:

I'm running Carbon Emacs on OS X as my main emacs, thus my .emacs  
file has a bunch of carbon only hooks in it. However, sometimes I'll  
use the terminal emacs (shipped with OS X) and the .emacs file causes  
problems calling things that the terminal version can't handle. I'd  
like to keep the ability to use both... any suggestions for having  
the .emacs file know which version is calling it and respond  
accordingly?

Thanks so much for the help.

PS: I know I can forgo the .emacs file with "emacs -q", but most of  
my problems occur when some other application calls emacs  
automatically via the environmental $EDITOR....

Re: .emacs handling multiple versions

[Kai Grossjohann]

IMVHO the best method is to check for the presence/absence of a
specific feature.

For example, if the problem is that sometimes a function doesn't
exist, then do

(when (fboundp 'foo)
  (foo ...))

Kai

"perldev@monkeybytes.org" <perldev@monkeybytes.org> writes:

> Hey, gang:
>
> I'm running Carbon Emacs on OS X as my main emacs, thus my .emacs file
> has a bunch of carbon only hooks in it. However, sometimes I'll  use
> the terminal emacs (shipped with OS X) and the .emacs file causes
> problems calling things that the terminal version can't handle. I'd
> like to keep the ability to use both... any suggestions for having
> the .emacs file know which version is calling it and respond
> accordingly?
>
> Thanks so much for the help.
>
> PS: I know I can forgo the .emacs file with "emacs -q", but most of my
> problems occur when some other application calls emacs  automatically
> via the environmental $EDITOR....

Re: .emacs handling multiple versions

[Peter Dyballa]

Am 04.04.2007 um 17:15 schrieb perldev@monkeybytes.org:

> I'm running Carbon Emacs on OS X as my main emacs, thus my .emacs  
> file has a bunch of carbon only hooks in it. However, sometimes  
> I'll use the terminal emacs (shipped with OS X) and the .emacs file  
> causes problems calling things that the terminal version can't  
> handle. I'd like to keep the ability to use both... any suggestions  
> for having the .emacs file know which version is calling it and  
> respond accordingly?

As Stefan already mentioned:

	/Applications/Emacs.app/Contents/MacOS/Emacs -nw

works as well! Use it with a shell alias or a shell function.

The other option is to check (compare) the emacs major version  
number. Apple's version of GNU Emacs without any windowing support is  
of version 21, the Carbon Emacsen are since some time of version 22:

	(cond ((< 21 emacs-major-version)
	    (progn
	      (message "This GNU Emacs is greater no. 21")
	      (some thing)
	    )
	      (some thing else, if needed)
	)

There are more conditionals.


Could be on Leopard, the coming Mac OS X 10.5, Apple's version of GNU  
Emacs will be 22. Then you could use emacs-minor-version.

There is also the symbol window-system. Without a windowing system  
it's nil, otherwise one of mac, ns, x11, or ? (don't know) for MS.

--
Greetings

   Pete

There's something the technicians need to learn from the artists. If  
it isn't aesthetically pleasing, it's probably wrong.

Re: .emacs handling multiple versions

[perldev]

Ah... thanks for the tip. Setting EDITOR equal to this in my .cshrc  
resolved all problems... plus, terminal emacs is a much newer version  
now. Thanks!


> As Stefan already mentioned:
>
> 	/Applications/Emacs.app/Contents/MacOS/Emacs -nw
>
> works as well! Use it with a shell alias or a shell function.

Re: .emacs handling multiple versions

[Stefan Monnier]

> I'm running Carbon Emacs on OS X as my main Emacs, thus my .emacs file has
> a bunch of carbon only hooks in it.  However, sometimes I'll use the
> terminal emacs (shipped with OS X) and the .emacs file causes problems
> calling things that the terminal version can't handle.

You can also use CarbonEmacs in a terminal, so you'll get the exact same
version in both cases.

> I'd like to keep the ability to use both... any suggestions for having
> the .emacs file know which version is calling it and respond accordingly?

Typically, you'll want to use things like (fboundp 'foo) to check whether
the function `foo' exists, before calling it.
Tell us more and we'll tell you more.


        Stefan