If you don't know this one already, then go to an emacs window right now, open up any source file (~/.emacs works fine), navigate to any function, and type the first couple of characters of a nearby identifier. Then type M-/. Ta-da!
Details: By default M-/ is bound to dabbrev-expand, which triggers the dynamic abbreviations facility. This dynamically compiles a dictionary from nearby identifiers in the source file, and offers matching identifiers as completions for the current token, preferring identifiers closer to the cursor over more distant ones.
For bonus points, type M-/ multiple times to cycle among recent matches, or use C-M-/ to pop up a list of matching completions in another buffer.
dabbrev-expand isn't as sophisticated as the semantically aware tab-completion available in many IDEs. Conversely, however, it works with no modification in almost every buffer type under the sun, so you can use it when editing code in elisp, Java, or the language you invented this morning. It even completes reasonably well when editing English prose (although since token prefixes are much less unique within an English document, it's only worthwhile for longer words).
Meanwhile, because dabbrev-expand's algorithm is so simple, it doesn't require a heavyweight background process to scan all your project files and keep an in-memory database up-to-date. This is, of course, a typical IDE pitfall. You'll never be waiting for emacs to repopulate the dabbrev-expand database after you refresh all the files in your project checkout.
I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I only learned this keyboard shortcut a couple of months ago. Yes, that's right, I've been typing all my identifiers manually (or using M-w/C-y to copy-and-paste) for my entire freaking career. I estimate that my long-term danger of RSI declined dramatically the day one of my teammates mentioned this feature.
(On the other hand, my incentive to keep names short has been reduced slightly, and I wonder what effect this will have on the code that I write. It seems to me that although names that are too short can be cryptic, it's good to keep code as concise as it can be, consistent with maintaining clarity. Along similar lines, I suspect, for example, that IDEs which make it too easy to extrude large volumes of boilerplate code, or to import functions from many different modules, result in looser, less organized code.)
I could have told you about this in 2001; gah!! Perhaps another advantage of doing occasional pair programming is that you learn tricks like this one.
ReplyDeletei would suggest you try out hippie-expand instead of dabbrev-expand. Much superior completion. Also, bind the function to a more intuitive key like TAB.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of those features that I just cannot live without!