From: jrs@world.std.com (Rick Sladkey)
Subject: New version of GNU Emacs for Linux and FAQ
Organization: The Internet
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1992 04:17:08 GMT

I have uploaded a new version of GNU Emacs for Linux to
banjo.concert.net, tsx-11.mit.edu and nic.funet.fi.  The primary new
features are shared libraries and extfs/dosfs compatible directory
handling.  I am working on XMenu support and open-network-stream
support.  Enclosed is the README.  Please let me know if there are any
problems.

Enjoy,

Rick Sladkey
jrs@world.std.com
-----
		FAQ for Linux version of GNU Emacs

This is a short list of Frequently Asked Questions about GNU Emacs
under Linux.  It does not address general questions about Emacs which
are not Linux specific.  For general help about Emacs, 1) learn to use
and read the online documentation, 2) read the real Emacs FAQ found in
emacs/etc/FAQ, and 3) read the newsgroup gnu.emacs.help.

					Rick Sladkey <jrs@world.std.com>

* Does Linux Emacs use the shared libraries?

Yes.  It wasn't easy.  If you have any problems with them let me know.
Also contact me if you would like static binaries.

* What version of the compiler was used?  Which shared libaries?

This describes version of GNU Emacs 18.58 for Linux 0.96b and above
compiled with GCC 2.2.2 using the libc.2.2.2 and libX11.1.1 shared
libraries.

* Which files do I need?

emacs-2.2.2.tar.Z		this file, sample default.el and diffs
emacs-etc-2.2.2.tar.Z		emacs support programs and misc info
emacs-shared-2.2.2.tar.Z	shared emacs binary and its doc file
x11emacs-shared-2.2.2.tar.Z	shared x11emacs binary and its doc file

* How do I install them?

According to Linux convention, cd to /usr and untar the packages.

* Why can't Emacs find its support files anymore?

This is because older versions of Emacs were compiled with
"/usr/local/emacs" based paths.  The current version is compiled with
"/usr/emacs" paths.  If you have a previous installation, just "mv
/usr/local/emacs /usr" and you're done.  If you can't bear to part
with the "/usr/local" pathnames because of inertia then do "ln -s
/usr/local/emacs /usr" and you can have them both.

* How do I get Emacs to recognize my cursor keys?

Simple.  Don't use them. :-)  Seriously, there are as many ways to do
this are there are elisp hackers but the preferred way is to follow
the pattern set by the other terminal definition files in
emacs/lisp/term/*.el.  For just arrow keys you can just copy vt100.el
to console.el and that's it.  For function keys and the others see
the sample default.el included with this file.

* What packages are particularly useful under Linux?

Because info format is the documentation standard of the GNU project
and just about everything except the kernel comes from FSF, you will
find that Dave Gillespie's enhanced info package is very useful.  It
allows multiple info directories, space bar paging, and supports
compressed info files. Please learn to use info.  Imagine Unix life
without man.

Others that I highly recommend are Sebastian Kremer's enhanced
dired directory editor, Dave Gillespie's calc calculator, Masanobu
UMEDA's gnus for usenet news, and Kyle Jone's vm for mail.

All can be found in the OSU Emacs archive.  See the real FAQ for more
details.

* Does Linux Emacs support the X Window System?

Yes.  However, there are two binaries.  One without X support (about
485k) and one with X support (about 515k).

* Do I need both Emacs if I don't always use X?

No.  The X11 version works equally well inside or outside of X.  If
you get the message "Check your DISPLAY variable" it means that you
have defined DISPLAY in your ~/.profile (or whatever).  You can fix
this by starting Emacs with 'emacs -nw' or by removing the DISPLAY
variable from your ~/.profile and putting it in you ~/.xinitrc.

* Why doesn't Emacs use the settings my .Xdefaults/.Xresources file?

You are probably using the word "emacs" and your X version of emacs
is called x11emacs.  Either use the word "Emacs" in your resource
file or rename x11emacs to emacs.  See above question on why this
is reasonable.

* I read about some menu that is supposed to pop up when I some mouse
  button.  Why doesn't it work with Linux Emacs?

This requires XMenu support to be compiled in.  I tried it.  It
doesn't work reliably.  So I didn't bloat the binary any further.

* Sometimes Emacs crashes with a SIGALRM message.  What's wrong?

You need to upgrade to a newer version of bash.  Some older versions
of bash were compiled with buggy libraries that caused bash to
send a SIGALRM to its parent in some circumstances.  Recent versions
do not exhibit this problem.

* Why does Emacs always puts me in the root directory?

You have the previous version of Emacs compiled before GCC 2.11c and
you are using the Linux extended filesystem.  Get the new version.

* Why doesn't Control-Z doesn't work right with Emacs?
* Why doesn't job control work in shell mode?

You have a really old version of Linux Emacs.  Get the new one.

--
Rick Sladkey
jrs@world.std.com