Re: What does it mean: (define-key mode-specific-map [?a] 'org-agenda)

[Tassilo Horn <tassilo@member.fsf.org>]

"Krause, Joerg" <j.krause@geze.com> writes:

Hi Jörg,

> After examining the manual and serveral sites, I still don't
> understand the term [?a] within that statement. Can anybody brighten
> my mind?

The square brackets say it's a vector, and ?x is the reader-syntax for
characters.  So it's a vector with exactly one item, the character `a'.
So this statement binds the command `org-agenda' to the key `a' in the
keymap `mode-specific-map'.

You could have written any of the following with equal results:

  (define-key mode-specific-map "?a" 'org-agenda)
  (define-key mode-specific-map (kbd "a") 'org-agenda)

I prefer the `kbd' version.  That understands the keybinding syntax that
is displayed in `C-h k', and which is used in all manuals, too.

,----[ C-h f kbd RET ]
| kbd is a Lisp macro in `subr.el'.
| 
| (kbd KEYS)
| 
| Convert KEYS to the internal Emacs key representation.
| KEYS should be a string constant in the format used for
| saving keyboard macros (see `edmacro-mode').
`----

Bye,
Tassilo