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diff --git a/2026/talks/align.md b/2026/talks/align.md new file mode 100644 index 00000000..62173681 --- /dev/null +++ b/2026/talks/align.md @@ -0,0 +1,61 @@ +[[!meta title="Column-aligning text in Emacs"]] +[[!meta copyright="Copyright © 2026 Jeff Trull"]] +[[!inline pages="internal(2026/info/align-nav)" raw="yes"]] + +<!-- Initially generated with emacsconf-publish-talk-page and then left alone for manual editing --> +<!-- You can manually edit this file to update the abstract, add links, etc. ---> + + +# Column-aligning text in Emacs +Jeff Trull (he/him) - Pronunciation: rhymes with "hull" and "dull", Mastodon: @jaafar@hachyderm.io Blog: <http://jefftrull.github.io/> Email: <mailto:edaskel@att.net> + +[[!inline pages="internal(2026/info/align-before)" raw="yes"]] + +Emacs has a rich set of features for manipulating ordinary text. The "fill" +features align text at the right or left edges of a paragraph, while +"indent" adds space at the start of a line based on the level within an +outline, or the depth of a block in code. + +Emacs also has a framework for lining up text **inside** a line to match +adjacent lines, creating the appearance of columns. For example, some +coders like to have equal signs in a series of assignment statements line +up, like this: + + apple = 12; + rambutan = 42; + +The [align.el family of functions](https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual///html_node/emacs/Code-Alignment.html) provides functions like align, which is the entry point for mode-based code alignment, as well as align-regexp, which gives interactive, user-defined access to the same features. +The presenter will give a basic introduction to the user-facing features before diving into a technical explanation of how to use the framework at the Lisp level to create your own alignment rules and features. +The technical portion will touch on packages like rx and peg in addition to align.el. + +Format: **20 minutes** and outline: + +- Motivation: the uses of (column) alignment +- Built-in align: features you can use out-of-the-box in programming + +modes + +- Customizing built-in align + - align-regexp for interactive alignment + - customizing align-rules-list for modes +- align.el for the ELisp coder + - Readable regexp with rx + - Example: Creating org-mode tables from columns + - Example: peg parsers as an alternative to regexp + +About the speaker: + +Jeff is a long-time Emacs user working on improving his ELisp skills. +The dominance of VSCode makes him sad. + +He discovered the align.el framework while trying to improve Emacs +formatting support for a C++ library he uses, Boost.SML +<https://github.com/boost-ext/sml>. + + + +[[!inline pages="internal(2026/info/align-after)" raw="yes"]] + +[[!inline pages="internal(2026/info/align-nav)" raw="yes"]] + + |