Re: [emacs-wiki-discuss] Re: OTT:Emacs Related

[Trent Buck]

"Paul D. Kraus" <address@hidden> writes:
> Where can I find a reference for what values can be given to emacs
> variables. Nil turns it off but what other values are there? Is there a
> reference somewhere?

Uh, nil is both the empty list and "false"; like how in C zero is both zero and
false.  In general "non-nil" (i.e. anything else) is "true", but in boolean
contexts it's convention to use "t".

> Where can I get a good jump on lisp programming and is it worth knowing?

Which lisp do you want: Common Lisp, Scheme or Emacs Lisp?  Common Lisp is the
workhorse of the family; it's good for doing "real work".  Scheme is very
lightweight; it's good for studying computer science.  Emacs Lisp is
(unsurprisingly) specific to Emacs.

They have about the same similarity as C, C++ and Java -- there is a lot of
crossover, but also a lot of gotchas.

The best introductory textbook for Scheme is _The Structure and Interpretation
of Computer Programs_ (SICP).  For Common Lisp, _Practical Common Lisp_ (PCL)
or _ANSI Common Lisp_ (ACL).  For Emacs, there is the _Introduction to Emacs
Lisp_.  I have links in my bibliography: http://twb.ath.cx/wiki/MoreBooks.xhtml

Lisp is definitely worth knowing, just like Forth and Haskell are worth
knowing.  You won't see many job offers for it in the paper, though.

-- 
Trent Buck, Student Errant