RE: How to get skills in elisp ?

[Drew Adams]

> > Yes, take a look at the manual (in Info, `C-h i') called `Emacs Lisp
> > Introduction' in the Info menu. The manual title is 
> > actually "An Introduction to
> > Programming in Emacs Lisp". It's just what you're looking for.
> 
> Ok, I did have a look to this but it starts by;
> 
>  "This is an `Introduction to Programming in Emacs Lisp', for people
> who are not programmers."
> 
> so since I'm a programmer (well I try to be ;) I just skiped the
> document.

;-) !!!

That was probably written to avoid scaring away non-programmers.

It really should say something like "for non-programmers and programmers who are
not necessarily familiar with Lisp. Really, it's for anyyone interested in Emacs
Lisp.

> Is there any way to jump into a function definition (for example by
> using tags) when asking for help on this function (C-h f) ?

After `C-h f' (or `C-h v' for variables), you should see a link to the defining
source file near the beginning of the help text. Examples:

eval-defun is an interactive compiled Lisp function in `lisp-mode.el'.

forward-char is an interactive built-in function in `C source code'.

The text `lisp-mode.el' and the text `C source code' are links - click them to
go to the definitions of functions `eval-defun' and `forward-char'. You will not
be able to do the latter if you don't have a copy of the C source code (in
directory `src' under your Emacs installation directory). To see the former, you
will likewise need a copy of the Lisp source code file, in this case
`lisp-mode.el'.

You should always make sure you have a copy of all of the Lisp source code files
for the libraries that you use. It's an invaluable help to consult the source
code. If you have only the byte-compiled files (*.elc instead of *.el), then go
to gnu.org and pick up the source files now.

Yes, you can also use a tags file. For that, you will need to create the tags
file. Consult the doc or Emacs Wiki for more info. Once you have a tags file,
you can easily get to any function etc. definitions. This is an alternative to
using `C-h f' and then following the link to the defining code.