Automated commit

2 files changed, 1186 insertions, 0 deletions

diff --git a/2024/captions/emacsconf-2024-shell--emacs-as-a-shell--christopher-howard--main--chapters.vtt b/2024/captions/emacsconf-2024-shell--emacs-as-a-shell--christopher-howard--main--chapters.vtt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..2f81b8be
--- /dev/null
+++ b/2024/captions/emacsconf-2024-shell--emacs-as-a-shell--christopher-howard--main--chapters.vtt
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+WEBVTT
+
+
+00:00:02.940 --> 00:00:37.880
+Introduction
+
+00:00:37.881 --> 00:01:38.559
+What do I mean by shell?
+
+00:01:38.560 --> 00:04:50.159
+What I do not mean
+
+00:04:50.160 --> 00:09:26.911
+What is a shell?
+
+00:09:26.912 --> 00:11:57.299
+Launching external processes
+
+00:11:57.300 --> 00:14:33.413
+Environment variables
+
+00:14:54.400 --> 00:16:02.546
+Processes
+
+00:17:00.180 --> 00:20:07.719
+Redirecting and pipelining input and output
+
+00:20:09.440 --> 00:21:01.999
+Scripts
+
+00:21:11.780 --> 00:23:30.079
+File system management
+
+00:23:43.560 --> 00:24:23.639
+Networking
+
+00:24:30.120 --> 00:34:21.127
+A brief tour of Eshell
+
+00:34:21.128 --> 00:36:36.979
+Login shell
+
+00:36:36.980 --> 00:37:13.000
+Resources
diff --git a/2024/captions/emacsconf-2024-shell--emacs-as-a-shell--christopher-howard--main.vtt b/2024/captions/emacsconf-2024-shell--emacs-as-a-shell--christopher-howard--main.vtt
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7f16a859
--- /dev/null
+++ b/2024/captions/emacsconf-2024-shell--emacs-as-a-shell--christopher-howard--main.vtt
@@ -0,0 +1,1142 @@
+WEBVTT captioned by mark
+
+NOTE Introduction
+
+00:00:02.940 --> 00:00:08.719
+Welcome to Emacs as a Shell, a talk by Christopher Howard for
+
+00:00:08.720 --> 00:00:13.799
+Emacs Conference 2024.
+
+00:00:13.800 --> 00:00:18.399
+In this talk, I would like to explore, or advocate for, a
+
+00:00:18.400 --> 00:00:21.919
+particular perspective. I want to encourage people to
+
+00:00:21.920 --> 00:00:26.479
+think of Emacs not as simply an editor or a development
+
+00:00:26.480 --> 00:00:31.119
+environment, but rather as a shell, or at least something
+
+00:00:31.120 --> 00:00:33.919
+that allows us to do most of the things that we might
+
+00:00:33.920 --> 00:00:37.880
+otherwise want to do from a shell.
+
+NOTE What do I mean by shell?
+
+00:00:37.881 --> 00:00:40.839
+What do I mean by shell? By
+
+00:00:40.840 --> 00:00:45.439
+shell, I mean basically an interface that allows us to
+
+00:00:45.440 --> 00:00:50.679
+interact with the rest of our system by entering commands.
+
+00:00:50.680 --> 00:00:55.039
+That definition is, perhaps, a little too broad, and so I
+
+00:00:55.040 --> 00:00:58.439
+will try to narrow it down with a list of features that,
+
+00:00:58.440 --> 00:01:03.279
+historically, we have come to expect from a shell. The Bash
+
+00:01:03.280 --> 00:01:07.719
+shell is one very portable and well-known shell, and for
+
+00:01:07.720 --> 00:01:13.599
+many of us it is maybe the prototypical example. But in the
+
+00:01:13.600 --> 00:01:16.879
+past there have been many other shells, and there are other
+
+00:01:16.880 --> 00:01:21.119
+shells available today. If we are willing to be flexible in
+
+00:01:21.120 --> 00:01:25.559
+our thinking, we can think of Emacs as being a shell, or at
+
+00:01:25.560 --> 00:01:28.879
+least providing most of the functionality that we expect
+
+00:01:28.880 --> 00:01:38.559
+from a shell.
+
+NOTE What I do not mean
+
+00:01:38.560 --> 00:01:42.759
+Before further expanding on this idea, I must emphasize
+
+00:01:42.760 --> 00:01:47.159
+what I do not mean. First of all, I am not talking about
+
+00:01:47.160 --> 00:01:51.439
+running Bash, or some other external shell, from within
+
+00:01:51.440 --> 00:01:56.439
+Emacs, although this is certainly possible. I am arguing,
+
+00:01:56.440 --> 00:02:02.439
+rather, for using Emacs as a shell, instead of other shells.
+
+00:02:02.440 --> 00:02:06.239
+Second, I do not mean running a terminal emulator from
+
+00:02:06.240 --> 00:02:11.399
+within Emacs. Emacs has a built-in terminal emulator, but
+
+00:02:11.400 --> 00:02:15.839
+this is not what I mean. A terminal emulator is essentially a
+
+00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:20.039
+program designed to control the cursor and text appearance
+
+00:02:20.040 --> 00:02:23.999
+in response to various control codes in order to mimic a
+
+00:02:24.000 --> 00:02:28.439
+terminal display device. There are certainly legitimate
+
+00:02:28.440 --> 00:02:32.559
+reasons to do this. Nevertheless, in general, it does not
+
+00:02:32.560 --> 00:02:36.519
+make much sense to run a terminal emulator within Emacs,
+
+00:02:36.520 --> 00:02:39.719
+because Emacs has its own commands for controlling the
+
+00:02:39.720 --> 00:02:45.039
+cursor and text appearance. Also, due to the way Emacs was
+
+00:02:45.040 --> 00:02:48.919
+designed historically, Emacs itself believes that it is
+
+00:02:48.920 --> 00:02:53.119
+running on a terminal. So you end up with layers upon layers
+
+00:02:53.120 --> 00:02:58.199
+of terminal emulation. Anyhow, at the end of the day, Emacs
+
+00:02:58.200 --> 00:03:01.839
+will not perform as well as a dedicated terminal emulator
+
+00:03:01.840 --> 00:03:08.079
+program. I also think that, as we try to force ANSI terminal
+
+00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:12.359
+emulation into our Emacs workflow, this ultimately will be
+
+00:03:12.360 --> 00:03:15.879
+a hindrance to us in taking advantage of the natural and
+
+00:03:15.880 --> 00:03:19.319
+pleasant interfaces that are already available to us
+
+00:03:19.320 --> 00:03:24.999
+within Emacs. In brief, if your goal is simply to figure out
+
+00:03:25.000 --> 00:03:28.499
+how to be able to do all your normal Bash command line
+
+00:03:28.500 --> 00:03:32.359
+wizardry from within an Emacs window instead of a GNOME
+
+00:03:32.360 --> 00:03:36.479
+console window, you are headed down a different set of train
+
+00:03:36.480 --> 00:03:43.199
+tracks than I am. Also, something which I fear may confuse
+
+00:03:43.200 --> 00:03:47.919
+the issue for some viewers is the fact that Emacs ships with
+
+00:03:47.920 --> 00:03:52.839
+its own unique built-in shell, called the Emacs shell, or
+
+00:03:52.840 --> 00:03:59.079
+Eshell.
+
+00:03:59.080 --> 00:04:02.959
+Eshell aims to be a legitimate shell, and provides a very
+
+00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:07.599
+similar experience to other shells like Bash, while being
+
+00:04:07.600 --> 00:04:11.119
+well integrated into the Emacs interface, and without
+
+00:04:11.120 --> 00:04:15.639
+giving up the power of the Emacs Lisp engine. Eshell will be
+
+00:04:15.640 --> 00:04:19.139
+mentioned multiple times in this talk. The entire talk
+
+00:04:19.140 --> 00:04:24.179
+could, in fact, be about Eshell, except that I want the talk
+
+00:04:24.180 --> 00:04:28.319
+to cover all aspects of Emacs shell-like functionality
+
+00:04:28.320 --> 00:04:32.079
+through its other tools, such as interactive commands and
+
+00:04:32.080 --> 00:04:37.079
+special modes. So, hopefully we can keep distinct in our
+
+00:04:37.080 --> 00:04:43.279
+mind the ideas of Emacs as a shell versus the Emacs shell,
+
+00:04:43.880 --> 00:04:50.159
+though the latter is an important part of the former.
+
+NOTE What is a shell?
+
+00:04:50.160 --> 00:04:55.399
+Let's get back to the fundamental idea of what is a shell. In
+
+00:04:55.400 --> 00:04:59.159
+the broadest definition, a shell is an interface which
+
+00:04:59.160 --> 00:05:02.279
+allows you to interact with your operating system through
+
+00:05:02.280 --> 00:05:06.840
+commands. However, from a historical perspective, there
+
+00:05:06.841 --> 00:05:10.699
+are a few basic capabilities which we expect to be part of
+
+00:05:10.700 --> 00:05:17.880
+every shell.
+
+00:05:17.881 --> 00:05:21.420
+First of all, the shell provides a means of launching
+
+00:05:21.421 --> 00:05:26.440
+external programs. Some internal or built-in commands
+
+00:05:26.441 --> 00:05:31.679
+might also be made available. Second, the shell provides a
+
+00:05:31.680 --> 00:05:36.820
+means of managing environment variables. In the past,
+
+00:05:36.821 --> 00:05:40.580
+environment variables often played a critical role as a
+
+00:05:40.581 --> 00:05:45.360
+means of passing in options, file names, device names, and
+
+00:05:45.361 --> 00:05:50.119
+suchlike to external programs. This is not quite as common
+
+00:05:50.120 --> 00:05:54.080
+today, but the environment still plays a critical role in
+
+00:05:54.081 --> 00:05:57.619
+managing things such as the path to executables and
+
+00:05:57.620 --> 00:06:03.080
+libraries, as well as various other user, desktop, and
+
+00:06:03.081 --> 00:06:08.280
+system settings. The shell modifies the environment and
+
+00:06:08.281 --> 00:06:11.620
+passes it on to external programs.
+
+00:06:13.540 --> 00:06:17.580
+Historically, job control was expected to be either a
+
+00:06:17.581 --> 00:06:21.560
+function of the shell, or easily accessible from it.
+
+00:06:21.561 --> 00:06:24.019
+Usually today, our personal computing is not
+
+00:06:24.020 --> 00:06:29.280
+batch-oriented. But typically, shells can run multiple
+
+00:06:29.281 --> 00:06:34.599
+processes simultaneously, as well as provide means to
+
+00:06:34.600 --> 00:06:38.780
+suspend and terminate processes, which are useful
+
+00:06:38.781 --> 00:06:44.880
+features. Shells should be able to redirect and pipeline
+
+00:06:44.881 --> 00:06:49.100
+process input and output. This allows the user to connect
+
+00:06:49.101 --> 00:06:53.880
+process input and output with files, devices, or other
+
+00:06:53.881 --> 00:06:58.813
+processes. Finally, shells are expected to have some
+
+00:06:58.814 --> 00:07:02.380
+limited scripting capability, such as the
+
+00:07:02.381 --> 00:07:06.613
+POSIX-compliant set of program statements and
+
+00:07:06.614 --> 00:07:08.880
+conditionals that Bash provides.
+
+00:07:11.100 --> 00:07:15.113
+As command-line wizards, there are a number of tasks we
+
+00:07:15.114 --> 00:07:18.280
+expect to be able to do quickly and easily from our shell,
+
+00:07:18.660 --> 00:07:21.646
+even though these tasks are not the domain of the shell
+
+00:07:21.647 --> 00:07:27.880
+itself. A common task is file management and navigation. We
+
+00:07:27.881 --> 00:07:31.113
+quickly navigate and manipulate the file system with
+
+00:07:31.114 --> 00:07:34.813
+standard utilities that do things like change the current
+
+00:07:34.814 --> 00:07:39.380
+working directory, rename files, move files, and delete
+
+00:07:39.381 --> 00:07:44.146
+files. We usually expect to have access to some additional
+
+00:07:44.147 --> 00:07:48.380
+process management utilities. These allow us to do things
+
+00:07:48.381 --> 00:07:51.780
+such as find out the status of all processes running on the
+
+00:07:51.781 --> 00:07:57.980
+system, and send signals to processes. Finally, we expect
+
+00:07:57.981 --> 00:08:02.113
+to have access to some basic networking utilities. For
+
+00:08:02.114 --> 00:08:05.413
+example, we should be able to run commands that set up
+
+00:08:05.414 --> 00:08:09.513
+network interfaces, ping computers, and download files.
+
+00:08:09.514 --> 00:08:16.080
+With a little reflection, we can see that Emacs can provide
+
+00:08:16.081 --> 00:08:20.146
+all or nearly all of the functionality we have described so
+
+00:08:20.147 --> 00:08:24.046
+far. And the functionality can be called conveniently
+
+00:08:24.047 --> 00:08:26.746
+through one of several methods.
+
+00:08:33.520 --> 00:08:43.846
+Either a normal interactive call, like M-x something, or a
+
+00:08:43.847 --> 00:08:46.013
+call to an elisp function,
+
+00:08:53.620 --> 00:09:01.180
+or through Eshell commands, or through some special buffer
+
+00:09:01.181 --> 00:09:06.946
+mode, such as the directory editor, which provides its own
+
+00:09:06.947 --> 00:09:09.413
+interface to some functionality.
+
+00:09:09.414 --> 00:09:17.413
+It may be going too far to say that Emacs is a full replacement
+
+00:09:17.414 --> 00:09:21.713
+for shells like Bash. Nevertheless, we can see that Emacs
+
+00:09:21.714 --> 00:09:25.680
+can do most of the things that we might otherwise do with our
+
+00:09:25.681 --> 00:09:26.911
+shell.
+
+NOTE Launching external processes
+
+00:09:26.912 --> 00:09:32.513
+Let us give some examples. First, can Emacs launch
+
+00:09:32.514 --> 00:09:36.680
+external commands? Of course. Now, there are something
+
+00:09:36.681 --> 00:09:40.446
+like a half-dozen different ways to do that within Emacs, and
+
+00:09:40.447 --> 00:09:46.713
+some are more convenient than others. From any Elisp
+
+00:09:46.714 --> 00:09:50.780
+program, we can call functions like make-process and
+
+00:09:50.781 --> 00:09:53.913
+call-process to launch external processes.
+
+00:10:12.460 --> 00:10:16.846
+These, however, generally are not convenient for quick,
+
+00:10:16.847 --> 00:10:22.380
+one-off commands. Another option would be to run Eshell,
+
+00:10:22.381 --> 00:10:26.580
+which would allow us to call the external program from a
+
+00:10:26.581 --> 00:10:28.946
+familiar command line prompt.
+
+00:10:34.160 --> 00:10:38.880
+If we do not actually want to drop into Eshell just to run one
+
+00:10:38.881 --> 00:10:42.213
+command, we also have the interactive command,
+
+00:10:42.214 --> 00:10:44.613
+eshell-command,
+
+00:10:52.420 --> 00:10:56.746
+which would allow us to call the external program from a
+
+00:10:56.747 --> 00:10:59.180
+familiar command line prompt.
+
+00:11:09.940 --> 00:11:12.080
+If we do not actually want to drop an
+
+00:11:12.081 --> 00:11:15.699
+Eshell just to run one command, as I just mentioned, we also
+
+00:11:15.700 --> 00:11:19.799
+have the interactive command eshell-command, which allows
+
+00:11:19.800 --> 00:11:23.399
+us to enter in a one-off command and run that immediately.
+
+00:11:25.420 --> 00:11:28.799
+And finally, there is also an interactive command called
+
+00:11:28.800 --> 00:11:30.499
+simply shell-command.
+
+00:11:34.600 --> 00:11:39.099
+Shell command is like Eshell command, but instead passes
+
+00:11:39.100 --> 00:11:42.899
+the command off to our system shell, for example, bash.
+
+00:11:43.940 --> 00:11:48.599
+This is cheating, of course, but it might be useful or convenient
+
+00:11:48.600 --> 00:11:57.299
+in some scenarios.
+
+NOTE Environment variables
+
+00:11:57.300 --> 00:12:01.899
+Regarding environment variables, Emacs can read and
+
+00:12:01.900 --> 00:12:05.399
+manipulate the environment variables, which in turn get
+
+00:12:05.400 --> 00:12:09.659
+passed on to processes which it launches. The
+
+00:12:09.660 --> 00:12:12.899
+general-purpose interactive commands for this are
+
+00:12:12.900 --> 00:12:18.499
+getenv and setenv. These commands
+
+00:12:18.500 --> 00:12:21.799
+deal with the one environment that is available throughout
+
+00:12:21.800 --> 00:12:25.699
+all parts of your running Emacs session. In other words,
+
+00:12:25.700 --> 00:12:28.999
+these functions deal with a global environment, which is
+
+00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:32.099
+the same wherever you are running getenv or
+
+00:12:32.100 --> 00:12:34.399
+setenv.
+
+00:13:00.340 --> 00:13:04.259
+An important exception is that every instance of Eshell
+
+00:13:04.260 --> 00:13:07.599
+maintains a distinct environment that will not be affected
+
+00:13:07.600 --> 00:13:13.980
+by setenv calls run in other buffers. Also, Eshell
+
+00:13:13.981 --> 00:13:16.446
+has some additional syntax for dealing with its
+
+00:13:16.447 --> 00:13:20.780
+environment, including the set and export syntax.
+
+00:13:38.647 --> 00:13:47.113
+Regarding job control and process management, Emacs does
+
+00:13:47.114 --> 00:13:50.880
+not provide job control in the way that Bash users are used
+
+00:13:50.881 --> 00:13:57.080
+to. We can, however, launch asynchronous processes, and do
+
+00:13:57.081 --> 00:14:01.580
+various things to them. From Eshell, or an eshell-command
+
+00:14:01.581 --> 00:14:07.180
+call, we can append the ampersand symbol to the command, and
+
+00:14:07.181 --> 00:14:11.013
+this will cause the process to run asynchronously in a
+
+00:14:11.014 --> 00:14:13.313
+dedicated buffer.
+
+00:14:20.881 --> 00:14:25.280
+Now, if the command is launched from Eshell, it will not
+
+00:14:25.281 --> 00:14:31.180
+actually run in a separate buffer, but the output will go to
+
+00:14:31.181 --> 00:14:33.413
+the Eshell buffer.
+
+NOTE Processes
+
+00:14:54.400 --> 00:14:59.580
+We can run the interactive command list-processes to see
+
+00:14:59.581 --> 00:15:02.846
+all the processes running for our current Emacs session.
+
+00:15:11.747 --> 00:15:17.646
+In Eshell, we can run the command "jobs" to get the same list.
+
+00:15:17.647 --> 00:15:22.813
+This will show the process name, process buffer name,
+
+00:15:22.814 --> 00:15:28.613
+process ID, and some other information. We can select the
+
+00:15:28.614 --> 00:15:32.880
+process buffer in the process list to bring up that process
+
+00:15:32.881 --> 00:15:36.213
+buffer.
+
+00:15:42.414 --> 00:15:47.046
+We can also use the interactive command signal-process to
+
+00:15:47.047 --> 00:15:52.980
+send any signal to a process, including "stop" to suspend the
+
+00:15:52.981 --> 00:15:58.380
+process, "continue" to resume the process, and "interrupt" or
+
+00:15:58.381 --> 00:16:02.546
+kill to terminate the process.
+
+NOTE Redirecting and pipelining input and output
+
+00:17:00.180 --> 00:17:04.813
+Regarding redirecting and pipelining input and output,
+
+00:17:04.814 --> 00:17:11.613
+Eshell does support redirection similar to Bash, so you can
+
+00:17:11.614 --> 00:17:17.046
+overwrite and append to files and some other objects. Input
+
+00:17:17.047 --> 00:17:22.380
+redirection is not yet implemented, but it is on the Eshell
+
+00:17:22.381 --> 00:17:29.213
+to-do list. Eshell also has pipes. The default pipe, which
+
+00:17:29.214 --> 00:17:33.220
+uses the familiar vertical bar symbol, pipes the data
+
+00:17:33.221 --> 00:17:36.980
+between the commands using an intermediate Emacs buffer.
+
+00:17:36.981 --> 00:17:41.200
+This, while usually quite practical, is less efficient
+
+00:17:41.201 --> 00:17:46.319
+than the system pipe. Therefore, Eshell also makes
+
+00:17:46.320 --> 00:17:50.146
+available a star-modified version, which uses the system
+
+00:17:50.147 --> 00:17:52.546
+pipe through a call to your system shell.
+
+00:17:56.881 --> 00:17:59.413
+So we can do things like
+
+00:18:02.340 --> 00:18:05.860
+direct output to a file.
+
+00:18:15.100 --> 00:18:20.240
+We're unfortunately not able to do input redirection, but
+
+00:18:20.241 --> 00:18:22.540
+we can use pipes.
+
+00:18:41.760 --> 00:18:45.639
+Elisp can manipulate and tie together processes in various
+
+00:18:45.640 --> 00:18:50.999
+ways, such as process filters and pipe processes, but I
+
+00:18:51.000 --> 00:18:56.559
+won't attempt to cover that. I feel like you should mention
+
+00:18:56.560 --> 00:19:02.119
+again that we have two kinds of pipes here available. So this
+
+00:19:02.120 --> 00:19:09.239
+pipe, the standard one, will pipe the data through Emacs
+
+00:19:09.240 --> 00:19:16.759
+buffers. That's very practical in most cases, but it is less
+
+00:19:16.760 --> 00:19:22.919
+efficient than piping through the system pipe. So Eshell
+
+00:19:22.920 --> 00:19:28.119
+makes available another symbol for that, star, vertical
+
+00:19:28.120 --> 00:19:38.339
+bar, that allows you to explicitly use the system pipe.
+
+00:19:38.340 --> 00:19:43.599
+Regarding scripting: Of course, using Emacs makes
+
+00:19:43.600 --> 00:19:47.959
+available all the power of the Elisp API and third-party
+
+00:19:47.960 --> 00:19:54.719
+packages, so we have that out of the gate. Eshell also has
+
+00:19:54.720 --> 00:19:59.639
+control flow statements, like an "if" construct and a "for"
+
+00:19:59.640 --> 00:20:06.519
+construct. See the Eshell info manual, section 3.7, for
+
+00:20:06.520 --> 00:20:07.719
+more details.
+
+NOTE Scripts
+
+00:20:09.440 --> 00:20:13.839
+And if you wish to write a script entirely in Eshell syntax,
+
+00:20:13.840 --> 00:20:18.559
+and store it in a separate file, this is possible with recent
+
+00:20:18.560 --> 00:20:20.159
+versions of Emacs.
+
+00:20:31.840 --> 00:20:34.679
+Here's an example of a brief script that I wrote.
+
+00:20:37.560 --> 00:20:42.679
+Unfortunately, an eshell mode for proper syntax
+
+00:20:42.680 --> 00:20:46.279
+highlighting is not yet available, but hopefully that will
+
+00:20:46.280 --> 00:20:51.279
+be forthcoming. Note that Eshell syntax allows elisp
+
+00:20:51.280 --> 00:20:55.079
+forms to be interspersed with regular command form for
+
+00:20:55.080 --> 00:20:58.759
+additional scripting power. We will discuss this a little
+
+00:20:58.760 --> 00:21:01.999
+more later.
+
+NOTE File system management
+
+00:21:11.780 --> 00:21:16.759
+Regarding file system management. In Emacs, many of the
+
+00:21:16.760 --> 00:21:20.239
+common file system operations are available as
+
+00:21:20.240 --> 00:21:26.759
+interactive commands. For example, M-x cd, to change your
+
+00:21:26.760 --> 00:21:32.839
+buffer's current working directory, and other M-x commands
+
+00:21:32.840 --> 00:21:37.439
+such as make-directory
+
+00:21:40.780 --> 00:21:42.679
+chmod,
+
+00:21:43.260 --> 00:21:51.159
+and delete-file. Of course, you can also drop into Eshell,
+
+00:21:53.840 --> 00:22:00.639
+or use M-x eshell-command to run the usual external commands
+
+00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:07.039
+for file system manipulation. Also, a file manager is built
+
+00:22:07.040 --> 00:22:14.279
+into Emacs, which can be run by calling M-x dired.
+
+00:22:19.640 --> 00:22:24.559
+The directory editor is powerful, but it is a bit strange to
+
+00:22:24.560 --> 00:22:28.679
+folks expecting something like Midnight Commander or the
+
+00:22:28.680 --> 00:22:35.639
+GNOME file manager. It gives us a number of helpful features
+
+00:22:35.640 --> 00:22:43.639
+like the ability to mark files, and to run elisp functions on
+
+00:22:44.700 --> 00:22:48.439
+them, and some other interesting ways to manipulate and
+
+00:22:48.440 --> 00:22:54.079
+rename the files. However, third-party Emacs extensions
+
+00:22:54.080 --> 00:22:58.479
+such as Midnight Commander Mode and Sunrise Commander are
+
+00:22:58.480 --> 00:23:03.879
+available to provide a Midnight Commander experience, for those who
+
+00:23:03.880 --> 00:23:10.319
+prefer that sort of file management.
+
+00:23:10.320 --> 00:23:14.879
+Emacs also has the nifty TRAMP functionality built in,
+
+00:23:14.880 --> 00:23:19.159
+which allows you, most of the time, to easily edit files on
+
+00:23:19.160 --> 00:23:22.719
+other computers, as well as manipulate the file system.
+
+00:23:23.180 --> 00:23:27.839
+This transparently works through SSH and some other
+
+00:23:27.840 --> 00:23:30.079
+protocols that you can specify.
+
+NOTE Networking
+
+00:23:43.560 --> 00:23:48.159
+Regarding networking features, I don't have a lot of
+
+00:23:48.160 --> 00:23:51.639
+interesting things to say about this at the present, so I'll
+
+00:23:51.640 --> 00:23:54.919
+skip through this quickly. But if you do a little research,
+
+00:23:54.920 --> 00:23:58.799
+you will see that Emacs has a lot of functionality relating
+
+00:23:58.800 --> 00:24:02.359
+to making network connections, interacting with the web,
+
+00:24:02.780 --> 00:24:07.859
+and such like, both built-in and in available packages, as
+
+00:24:07.860 --> 00:24:14.399
+well as modes for doing things like Web browsing and Gemini
+
+00:24:14.400 --> 00:24:20.599
+browsing. And of course, you can run the usual standard
+
+00:24:20.600 --> 00:24:23.639
+networking commands for your system through Eshell.
+
+NOTE A brief tour of Eshell
+
+00:24:30.120 --> 00:24:33.759
+So having put forward the main arguments for this talk, I
+
+00:24:33.760 --> 00:24:38.199
+would like to take some time now to give a brief tour of a few of
+
+00:24:38.200 --> 00:24:43.799
+the features of Eshell, the Emacs shell. It bears
+
+00:24:43.800 --> 00:24:46.999
+emphasizing that Eshell is not a drop-in replacement for
+
+00:24:47.000 --> 00:24:51.879
+Bash, or even a Bash clone, though I believe the developers
+
+00:24:51.880 --> 00:24:56.839
+are trying to make much of the syntax very similar. Also,
+
+00:24:56.840 --> 00:25:00.479
+Eshell is not a terminal emulator, and it will not display
+
+00:25:00.480 --> 00:25:04.679
+correctly applications which use advanced ANSI control
+
+00:25:04.680 --> 00:25:10.119
+codes. However, Eshell can be configured to be aware of such
+
+00:25:10.120 --> 00:25:13.300
+applications, and to run them automatically within the
+
+00:25:13.301 --> 00:25:19.940
+Emacs terminal emulator when launched. See section 5.1 of
+
+00:25:19.941 --> 00:25:24.100
+the Eshell manual titled Visual Commands.
+
+00:25:32.540 --> 00:25:36.759
+Though Eshell is not Bash, it has multiple features,
+
+00:25:36.760 --> 00:25:40.679
+pertaining mainly to its by-design Emacs integration,
+
+00:25:40.680 --> 00:25:44.639
+which may make it more appealing to use than Bash or another
+
+00:25:44.640 --> 00:25:45.359
+shell.
+
+00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:52.039
+For one, Eshell allows entering commands on the command
+
+00:25:52.040 --> 00:25:55.960
+line that are space and new line separated, without
+
+00:25:55.961 --> 00:26:01.280
+parentheses. Of course, all the other shells do this. But
+
+00:26:01.281 --> 00:26:06.280
+within Eshell, it is possible to enter internal Emacs
+
+00:26:06.281 --> 00:26:11.060
+functions, as well as external commands.
+
+00:26:13.240 --> 00:26:45.739
+This allows us to do things like this.
+
+00:26:45.740 --> 00:26:49.759
+As far as I understand, it is possible to enter any Emacs
+
+00:26:49.760 --> 00:26:53.959
+function on the Eshell command line. However, some special
+
+00:26:53.960 --> 00:26:58.399
+syntax may be required if you are trying to pass in something
+
+00:26:58.400 --> 00:27:00.799
+that is not a string or a number.
+
+00:27:04.380 --> 00:27:07.919
+As you might have noticed in the last example, Eshell makes
+
+00:27:07.920 --> 00:27:12.919
+it possible to use an Emacs buffer as a sink for output. It
+
+00:27:12.920 --> 00:27:18.039
+also allows using a buffer as a source of input, though this
+
+00:27:18.040 --> 00:27:21.839
+is slightly more complicated, since the buffer must be
+
+00:27:21.840 --> 00:27:27.199
+converted to a string first. I have distilled this down into
+
+00:27:27.200 --> 00:27:30.279
+my own function, named with the "at" symbol.
+
+00:27:36.640 --> 00:27:40.319
+And I will provide the brief snippet of code for this later.
+
+00:27:54.640 --> 00:28:02.499
+So to give an example, here's our messages buffer.
+
+00:28:02.500 --> 00:28:05.399
+And from Eshell, we can do something like this.
+
+00:28:29.780 --> 00:28:34.439
+Let's say here we wanted to grab our messages buffer to see
+
+00:28:34.440 --> 00:28:38.079
+everything that we had been loading during the startup
+
+00:28:38.080 --> 00:28:38.959
+process.
+
+00:28:48.060 --> 00:28:51.879
+So you can see how that could be very handy in a number of
+
+00:28:51.880 --> 00:28:52.959
+scenarios.
+
+00:28:55.060 --> 00:29:00.239
+I wanted to briefly mention that we have a helpful function
+
+00:29:00.240 --> 00:29:03.439
+here called eshell-insert-buffer-name,
+
+00:29:11.120 --> 00:29:15.359
+which allows us to insert a buffer name into the current
+
+00:29:15.360 --> 00:29:18.439
+buffer at point using completion,
+
+00:29:24.680 --> 00:29:32.879
+which can save you a lot of typing.
+
+00:29:32.880 --> 00:29:34.799
+Another nice feature of Eshell
+
+00:29:37.220 --> 00:29:41.199
+is that it allows integrating ELisp into the command line
+
+00:29:41.200 --> 00:29:48.879
+call. Let's give another example. Say we wanted to echo the
+
+00:29:48.880 --> 00:29:53.919
+date to an event file or an event log.
+
+00:29:56.720 --> 00:30:01.639
+I should probably take a moment to explain this asterisk
+
+00:30:01.640 --> 00:30:06.999
+that I'm occasionally using. So since Emacs, or excuse me,
+
+00:30:07.000 --> 00:30:11.719
+since Eshell can use internal or external Emacs, excuse me,
+
+00:30:11.720 --> 00:30:16.999
+internal Emacs commands or external commands, it may
+
+00:30:17.000 --> 00:30:21.679
+sometimes be necessary to clarify which one you want to use,
+
+00:30:22.380 --> 00:30:27.079
+since the names may overlap. Since my Eshell is configured
+
+00:30:27.080 --> 00:30:32.319
+by default to prefer the internal Emacs functions, then
+
+00:30:32.320 --> 00:30:37.799
+sometimes I have to use the asterisk to specify that I want
+
+00:30:37.800 --> 00:30:39.079
+the external version.
+
+00:30:42.680 --> 00:31:02.639
+Here I can insert a bit of Elisp,
+
+00:31:03.180 --> 00:31:06.119
+and then redirect the output to the event log.
+
+00:31:18.720 --> 00:31:22.639
+Last, I want to mention that there are some optional Eshell
+
+00:31:22.640 --> 00:31:27.159
+modules in Emacs, not turned on by default, which provide
+
+00:31:27.160 --> 00:31:29.039
+additional nifty features.
+
+00:31:40.540 --> 00:31:45.639
+On my system, I have most of the optional modules turned on.
+
+00:31:58.320 --> 00:32:03.199
+An interesting module is eshell-smart, which does various
+
+00:32:03.200 --> 00:32:07.319
+things with cursor positioning and scrolling, so as to make
+
+00:32:07.320 --> 00:32:10.399
+editing commands and reviewing output easier.
+
+00:32:18.340 --> 00:32:23.619
+Let's say I was to change directory to my boot directory
+
+00:32:30.880 --> 00:32:35.039
+and use a command which involves lots of output.
+
+00:32:39.900 --> 00:32:44.359
+You'll notice right away that the cursor positioning is set
+
+00:32:44.360 --> 00:32:48.719
+such that I'm immediately able to view the top of the output.
+
+00:32:48.720 --> 00:32:52.879
+Also, I'm able to use the space bar to page through the
+
+00:32:52.880 --> 00:32:56.079
+output.
+
+00:32:56.080 --> 00:33:01.919
+So this is an opinionated feature, which assumes that
+
+00:33:01.920 --> 00:33:05.399
+you're likely going to want to review the output
+
+00:33:05.400 --> 00:33:10.559
+immediately, or that you often will. Of course, you can
+
+00:33:10.560 --> 00:33:17.599
+always jump to the end.
+
+00:33:19.980 --> 00:33:23.919
+Also, after a command is entered, the cursor is immediately
+
+00:33:23.920 --> 00:33:28.279
+repositioned to make it easy to edit the command.
+
+00:33:53.020 --> 00:33:56.519
+And also, if I don't want to edit the command, and I do not want
+
+00:33:56.520 --> 00:33:59.679
+to review the output, I can simply start typing another
+
+00:33:59.680 --> 00:34:00.359
+command.
+
+00:34:11.260 --> 00:34:15.519
+So that covers the brief tour of Eshell features.
+
+00:34:17.760 --> 00:34:21.127
+And that basically ends my talk.
+
+NOTE Login shell
+
+00:34:21.128 --> 00:34:22.380
+However, a handful of
+
+00:34:22.381 --> 00:34:28.719
+viewers might be wondering, is it possible to set Emacs to be
+
+00:34:28.720 --> 00:34:37.639
+my login shell to completely replace bash in your login
+
+00:34:37.640 --> 00:34:43.719
+experience? The answer is yes, but in practice there are
+
+00:34:43.720 --> 00:34:47.399
+various difficulties involved which might make it not
+
+00:34:47.400 --> 00:34:48.359
+worth the trouble.
+
+00:35:00.440 --> 00:35:03.479
+Before doing this, you'll have to answer a few initial
+
+00:35:03.480 --> 00:35:09.519
+questions. Do you want to make a new Emacs instance every
+
+00:35:09.520 --> 00:35:13.759
+time you log in, or do you want it to connect to an Emacs
+
+00:35:13.760 --> 00:35:20.599
+server? Which is popular among Emacs users, to reuse the
+
+00:35:20.600 --> 00:35:26.599
+session, or to connect to the existing session. Also, do you
+
+00:35:26.600 --> 00:35:30.639
+want a different result, whether in graphical or a terminal
+
+00:35:30.640 --> 00:35:34.679
+environment? And are you okay with your initialization
+
+00:35:34.680 --> 00:35:39.559
+file being run every time you log in, including every new tab
+
+00:35:39.560 --> 00:35:44.520
+you open in a terminal emulator? If we assume that you are
+
+00:35:44.521 --> 00:35:50.339
+using a system with /etc/passwd user management, you get
+
+00:35:50.340 --> 00:35:53.999
+one field to specify the name of the shell program that you
+
+00:35:54.000 --> 00:35:58.479
+want to use, and no arguments are allowed. So maybe you can
+
+00:35:58.480 --> 00:36:02.679
+see how this might be challenging, depending on your
+
+00:36:02.680 --> 00:36:06.879
+answers to the previous questions. You can work around
+
+00:36:06.880 --> 00:36:10.479
+these issues in various ways, like modifying the
+
+00:36:10.480 --> 00:36:15.439
+authentication system, or by specifying a script for your
+
+00:36:15.440 --> 00:36:21.799
+login shell. But if your normal workflow is to simply log in
+
+00:36:21.800 --> 00:36:25.679
+and start Emacs and run that Emacs session until your next
+
+00:36:25.680 --> 00:36:36.979
+reboot, then it probably isn't worth the bother.
+
+NOTE Resources
+
+00:36:36.980 --> 00:36:41.999
+So thank you for listening to my talk, Emacs as a Shell, by
+
+00:36:42.000 --> 00:36:46.319
+Christopher Howard for Emacs Conference 2024.
+
+00:36:46.860 --> 00:36:51.519
+At the bottom of this page, you can see a link to the
+
+00:36:51.520 --> 00:36:56.919
+repository containing the brief amount of code that was
+
+00:36:56.920 --> 00:37:03.679
+featured here in this video, as well as a link to my personal
+
+00:37:03.680 --> 00:37:10.279
+Gemini gemlog, as well as to a Web portal version of that.
+
+00:37:10.280 --> 00:37:13.000
+Thank you.