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diff --git a/content/blog/2024-03-13-doom-emacs.md b/content/blog/2024-03-13-doom-emacs.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2c8ed41 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/blog/2024-03-13-doom-emacs.md @@ -0,0 +1,362 @@ ++++ +date = 2024-03-13 +title = "Doom Emacs & Org-Mode" +description = "" +draft = false ++++ + +## Screenshots + +These screenshots are showing a project opened with projectile, a +treemacs side pane open with the project contents, multiple buffers +tiled next to each other, and the help pane open at the bottomm. + +The themes are `doom-homage-white` and +`doom-homage-black`. + + + + + +## Getting Started + +I have been switching back and forth between +[markdown](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markdown) and +[org-mode](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Org-mode) recently for my +personal note taking, wiki, and even this blog. As a result, I have been +stumbling further into the world of Emacs and found myself at a point +where I now prefer to do most of my basic editing within Emacs. + +I\'ll leave the markdown vs. org-mode debate for another post, but I +love org-mode\'s extensibility and interactive nature within Emacs, but +it becomes very unwieldy in any other client implementation of +org-mode - especially on iOS. On the flip side, markdown is limited in +functionality and fractured into different standards, but it\'s simple +and popular enough that there are a plethora of great clients to choose +from that will get the job done. + +For now, I want to focus on how I have been using Emacs and some of the +things that would have helped me learn it faster had I known where to +start. + +### Installation + +This post focuses on [Doom +Emacs](https://github.com/doomemacs/doomemacs), which is an Emacs +framework that provides an alternative experience to the vanilla [GNU +Emacs](https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/). + +The [Getting Start +Guide](https://github.com/doomemacs/doomemacs/blob/master/docs/getting_started.org) +has an extremely detailed walkthrough of installation for all systems, +so please refer to that guide for up-to-date instructions. + +I chose to install on macOS, using the Homebrew option with the +`railwaycat/emacsmacport` version of Emacs. + +Once the program is installed, you can run the program by typing +`emacs` in a terminal. If you installed a version of Emacs +that supports both a GUI and TUI, you will have to run +`emacs -nw` to get the TUI instead of the default GUI. + +### Configuration + +Once installed, you can configure Doom by editing the files within the +`~/.doom.d/` directory. This directory holds four files: + +1. `config.el` - Personal configuration file +2. `custom.el` - Custom set variables +3. `init.el` - Doom modules and load order, must run + `doom sync` after modifying +4. `packages.el` - Declare packages to install in this file, + then run `doom sync` to install + +I only needed a few customizations for my configuration, so I\'ll list +them below. + +```lisp +;; ~/.doom.d/config.el +(setq doom-theme 'doom-homage-black) +(setq display-line-numbers-type t) +(setq org-directory "~/Documents/Notes/") + +;; lengthy org-publish directives at the bottom of the file +``` + +```lisp +;; ~/.doom.d/init.el +(doom! :input + :completion + company ; the ultimate code completion backend + vertico ; the search engine of the future + + :ui + doom ; what makes DOOM look the way it does + doom-dashboard ; a nifty splash screen for Emacs + (emoji +unicode) ; 🙂 + hl-todo ; highlight TODO/FIXME/NOTE/DEPRECATED/HACK/REVIEW + minimap ; show a map of the code on the side + modeline ; snazzy, Atom-inspired modeline, plus API + ophints ; highlight the region an operation acts on + (popup +defaults) ; tame sudden yet inevitable temporary windows + tabs ; a tab bar for Emacs + treemacs ; a project drawer, like neotree but cooler + (vc-gutter +pretty) ; vcs diff in the fringe + vi-tilde-fringe ; fringe tildes to mark beyond EOB + workspaces ; tab emulation, persistence & separate workspaces + + :editor + (evil +everywhere); come to the dark side, we have cookies + file-templates ; auto-snippets for empty files + fold ; (nigh) universal code folding + snippets ; my elves. They type so I don't have to + + :emacs + dired ; making dired pretty [functional] + electric ; smarter, keyword-based electric-indent + undo ; persistent, smarter undo for your inevitable mistakes + vc ; version-control and Emacs, sitting in a tree + + :term + term ; basic terminal emulator for Emacs + + :checkers + syntax ; tasing you for every semicolon you forget + + :tools + (eval +overlay) ; run code, run (also, repls) + lookup ; navigate your code and its documentation + magit ; a git porcelain for Emacs + + :os + (:if (featurep :system 'macos) macos) ; improve compatibility with macOS + + :lang + common-lisp ; if you've seen one lisp, you've seen them all + emacs-lisp ; drown in parentheses + markdown ; writing docs for people to ignore + org ; organize your plain life in plain text + python ; beautiful is better than ugly + sh ; she sells {ba,z,fi}sh shells on the C xor + + :app + irc ; how neckbeards socialize + (rss +org) ; emacs as an RSS reader + + (default +bindings +smartparens)) +``` + +If you\'re editing these files within Doom directly, remember to run +`SPC h r r` to reload the configuration. Also remember to run +`doom sync` for any changes to the `init.el` or +`packages.el` files. + +## Basic Functionality + +I kept a cheat sheet note open at first with all of the basic functions +typed out, copied as I went through the tutorial. After a little while, +I no longer needed it. I highly recommend writing down the most +applicable shortcuts for your preferred functionality and refer back to +it until you\'ve memorized it. + +Memorizing the shortcuts will differ based on the type of Emacs +framework being used. Personally, migrating from vanilla Emacs to Doom +Emacs simplified everything by a large factor and instantly enabled me +to start working on my projects, eliminating most of the hurdles I was +running into. The vanilla emacs hotkeys became obnoxious and I actually +stopped using Emacs entirely for about a month before trying Doom. + +For me, the first logical step is to interact with the local filesystem. +To do this, I needed to know how to open directories, open files, save +files, discard changes, close files, and switch between open files. Here +are some example shortcuts I\'ve written down in order to accomplish +file-based actions. + + Doom Hotkey Emacs Hotkey Description + ---------------------------- --------------------------- ---------------------------------------- + `SPC :` `C-x` Run functions + `SPC f f` `C-x f` Open file in buffer + `SPC f d` `C-x d` Open directory with `dired` + `i` `C-x C-q` Edit current buffer (insert mode) + `q` `C-x C-q` Quit out of insert mode + `SPC f s` `C-x s` Save current buffer + `SPC b k` `C-x k` Kill current buffer + `SPC w h/j/k/l` `C-x o`\[^1^\] Move left/down/up/right to next buffer + +\[^1^\] Doom\'s evil-window functionality is a bit different from GNU +Emacs, but you can always switch to the \"other\" buffer with +`C-x o` or `C-x b` to get a list of buffers to +select. + +In general, when in Doom, you can press `SPC` and wait a +second for the help pane to appear with all available hotkey options. +For example, you can press `SPC`, wait for the help pane, and +then select a key such as `g` to enter the git help pane and +explore further command options. + +## Editing + +Next in my process is to dive into editing for any languages I\'m +currently using. In this post, I will just cover Markdown and Org-Mode +but I have also been slowly adoping some Python and general web dev +tools as well. + +### Markdown + + + +Markdown is fairly simple as the syntax is limited, so just make sure +the `~/.doom.d/init.el` includes the `markdown` +declaration in the `:lang` section. + +This package includes the following hotkey menus. The insert and toggle +menu expands further, allowing you to insert various markdown elements +and toggle things like link hiding. + + Doom Hotkey Function + ----------------------------------------- -------------------------- + `SPC m '` markdown-edit-code-block + `SPC m e` markdown-export + `SPC m i` +insert + `SPC m o` markdown-open + `SPC m p` markdown-preview + `SPC m t` +toggle + `SPC : markdown-table-align` markdown-table-align + +### Org-Mode + + + +Similar to the markdown section above, ensure that the +`~/.doom.d/init.el` includes the `org` declaration +in the `:lang` section. + +There are a few hot keys, but a quick search with `SPC : org` +shows that there are 865 possible org-related functions you can run. I +won\'t possibly be able to list them all, so I will simply cover a few +of the basic commands I use myself. + + Doom Hotkey Function + --------------------------- --------------------------------------- + `SPC m t` org-todo + `SPC n t` org-todo-list + `SPC o A` org-agenda + `SPC X` org-capture + `SPC m p p` org-priority + `SPC m d s` org-schedule + `TAB` org-cycle + `SHIFT TAB` Collapse/open all headings in buffer + `M-q` Format/wrap current section + `M-Left/Right` Demote/promote current heading + `M-Down/Up` Shift current heading section down/up + +1. Org-Publish + + Org includes a [publishing management + system](https://orgmode.org/manual/Publishing.html) by default that + allows you to export org files to Org, iCalendar, HTML, LaTex, + Markdown, ODT, and Plain Text. Most of these can be exported into + another buffer and opened, or simply to an external file. + + While inside an org file, simply run `SPC m e` or + `M-x org-export-dispatch` to open the export menu. This + menu will show all options and ask you to select an option. If you + want to export to HTML, simply press `h` and then + `H` (As HTML buffer), `h` (As HTML file), or + `o` (As HTML file and open). + +2. Projects + + Some publishing options are easier with a defined project in Emacs. + To create a project within Emacs, I use two methods: + + 1. Add the project via the projectile command `SPC p a`. + Does not always work for me. + 2. Add an empty `.projectile` file in the project root. + + Once a project has been created, you can create custom publishing + actions within your `~/.doom.d/config.el` file. For + example, here\'s a test project I created to try and convert this + blog to org-mode recently. + + ```lisp + ;; org-publish + (require 'ox-publish) + + (defun my/org-sitemap-date-entry-format (entry style project) "Format ENTRY in + org-publish PROJECT Sitemap format ENTRY ENTRY STYLE format that includes + date." (let ((filename (org-publish-find-title entry project))) (if (= (length + filename) 0) (format "*%s*" entry) (format "{{{timestamp(%s)}}} + [[file:%s][%s]]" (format-time-string "%Y-%m-%d" (org-publish-find-date entry + project)) entry filename)))) + + (setq org-export-global-macros '(("timestamp" . "@@html:<time datetime='[$1]' + class='timestamp'>[$1]</time>@@"))) + + (setq org-publish-project-alist + `(("blog" + :base-directory "~/Source/cleberg.net/" + :base-extension "org" + :recursive t + :publishing-directory "~/Source/cleberg.net/public/" + :publishing-function org-html-publish-to-html + ;; HTML5 + :html-doctype "html5" + :html-html5-fancy t + ;; Disable some Org's HTML defaults + :html-head-include-scripts nil + :html-head-include-default-style nil + :section-numbers nil + :with-title nil + ;; Sitemap + :auto-sitemap t + :sitemap-title: "Sitemap" + :sitemap-sort-files anti-chronologically + ; :sitemap-function my/org-sitemap-date-entry-format + ;; Customize HTML output + :html-divs ((preamble "header" "preamble") + (content "main" "content") + (postamble "footer" "postamble")) + :html-head "<meta name='theme-color' content='#111' media='(prefers-color-scheme: dark)'> + <meta name='theme-color' content='#fff' media='(prefers-color-scheme: light)'> + <link rel='stylesheet' href='/syntax-theme-dark.css' media='(prefers-color-scheme: dark)'> + <link rel='stylesheet' href='/syntax-theme-light.css' media='(prefers-color-scheme: light)'> + <link rel='stylesheet' href='/styles.css' type='text/css'>" + :html-preamble "<nav class='site-nav' aria-label='site-nav' role='navigation'> + <ul> + <li><a href='/'>Home</a></li> + <li><a href='/blog/'>Blog</a></li> + <li><a href='/services/'>Services</a></li> + <li><a href='/wiki/'>Wiki</a></li> + </ul></nav> + <h1>%t</h1> + <time datetime='%d'>%d</time>" + :html-postamble " + <p>Last build: %T</p> + <p>Created with %c</p>" + ) + + ("static" + :base-directory "~/Source/cleberg.net/static/" + :base-extension "css\\|txt\\|jpg\\|gif\\|png" + :recursive t + :publishing-directory "~/Source/cleberg.net/public/" + :publishing-function org-publish-attachment) + + ("cleberg.net" :components ("blog" "static")))) + ``` + +## General Thoughts + +I have enjoyed Doom Emacs (far more than GNU Emacs) and will likely +continue to use it as my main editor for the time being. Org-Mode is +certainly the largest factor here, as I far prefer it over Markdown due +to its inherent features and detailed markup options. However, working +with org-mode on iOS has been a pain and I will have to see if there\'s +an easier way to resolve those issues or if going back to separate +Markdown, Reminders, and Calendar apps is easier to work with than an +all-in-one org solution. |