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   1 #+TITLE: Yet another snippet extension
   2 #+OPTIONS: toc:1
   3 #+STARTUP: showall
   4
   5 #+SETUPFILE: org-setup.inc
   6
   7 * Quick start
   8
   9   *YASnippet* is a template system for Emacs. It allows you to type an
  10   abbreviation and automatically expand it into function templates. Bundled
  11   language templates includes: C, C++, C#, Perl, Python, Ruby, SQL, LaTeX, HTML,
  12   CSS and more. The snippet syntax is inspired from TextMate's syntax, you can
  13   even [[#import-textmate][import most TextMate snippets]]
  14
  15   YASnippet is an original creation of [[http://pluskid.lifegoo.org][pluskid]] who also wrote its predecessor
  16   [[http://code.google.com/p/smart-snippet][smart-snippet]].
  17
  18 ** Watch a demo
  19
  20    On [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCGmZK4V7Sg][youtube]].
  21
  22 ** Installation
  23
  24    Clone this repository somewhere
  25
  26    #+begin_example
  27    $ cd ~/.emacs.d/plugins
  28    $ git clone https://github.com/capitaomorte/yasnippet
  29    #+end_example
  30
  31    Add the following in your =.emacs= file:
  32
  33    #+begin_src emacs-lisp :exports code
  34    (add-to-list 'load-path
  35                  "~/.emacs.d/plugins/yasnippet")
  36    (require 'yasnippet)
  37    (yas-global-mode 1)
  38    #+end_src
  39
  40    Add your own snippets to =~/.emacs.d/snippets= by placing files there or
  41    invoking [[sym:yas-new-snippet][=yas-new-snippet=]].
  42
  43 ** Import textmate snippets (rails example)
  44    :PROPERTIES:
  45    :CUSTOM_ID: import-textmate
  46    :END:
  47
  48    YASnippet lets you use TextMate bundles directly:
  49
  50    #+begin_example
  51    $ cd ~/.emacs.d/plugins
  52    $ git clone https://github.com/capitaomorte/yasnippet
  53    $ cd yasnippet
  54    $ git submodule init
  55    $ git submodule update
  56    $ gem install plist trollop
  57    $ rake convert_bundles             # will convert ruby, rails and html bundles from drnic
  58    #+end_example
  59
  60    Then, in your =.emacs= file
  61
  62    #+begin_example
  63    (add-to-list 'load-path
  64                  "~/.emacs.d/plugins/yasnippet")
  65    (require 'yasnippet)
  66    (setq yas-snippet-dirs '("~/.emacs.d/snippets" "~/.emacs.d/extras/imported"))
  67    (yas-global-mode 1)
  68    #+end_example
  69
  70    Open some rails file (model, app, etc) and start using the textmate
  71    snippets. Consider that this is a work-in-progress and many snippets/commands
  72    might not work. Patches welcome!
  73
  74 ** Contributing snippets
  75
  76    Please *do not ask me* to add snippets to the default collection under
  77    =/snippets=. This collection is considered frozen. By customizing
  78    [[sym:yas-snippet-dirs][=yas-snippet-dirs=]] you can point yasnippet to good
  79    snippet collections out there.
  80
  81    The =extras/textmate-import.rb= tool can import many actual Textmate
  82    snippets.  I'm focusing on developing it and the accompanying =yas-setup.el=
  83    files that guide it with more difficult importations. The idea is to deprecate
  84    =/snippets=  and replace it with =extras/imported=.
  85
  86 ** Documentation
  87
  88    The documentation has been split into separate parts:
  89
  90    1. [[file:snippet-organization.org][Organizing Snippets]]
  91       #+BEGIN_QUOTE
  92       Describes ways to organize your snippets in the hard disk.
  93       #+END_QUOTE
  94
  95    2. [[file:snippet-expansion.org][Expanding Snippets]]
  96       #+BEGIN_QUOTE
  97       Describes how YASnippet chooses snippets for expansion at point.
  98
  99       Maybe, you'll want some snippets to be expanded in a particular mode,
 100       or only under certain conditions, or be prompted using =ido=, etc...
 101       #+END_QUOTE
 102
 103    3. [[file:snippet-development.org][Writing Snippets]]
 104       #+BEGIN_QUOTE
 105       Describes the YASnippet definition syntax, which is very close (but
 106       not equivalent) to Textmate's. Includes a section about converting
 107       TextMate snippets.
 108       #+END_QUOTE
 109
 110    4. [[file:snippet-menu.org][The YASnippet menu]]
 111       #+BEGIN_QUOTE
 112       Explains how to use the YASnippet menu to explore, learn and modify
 113       snippets.
 114       #+END_QUOTE
 115
 116    5. [[file:snippet-reference.org][YASnippet Symbol Reference]]
 117       #+BEGIN_QUOTE
 118       An automatically generated listing of all YASnippet commands,
 119       (customization) variables, and functions.
 120       #+END_QUOTE
 121
 122 ** Bugs, discussion, contributions, etc
 123
 124    If you think you've found a bug, please report it on [[https://github.com/capitaomorte/yasnippet/issues][the GitHub issue tracker]]
 125    (please **do not** submit new issues to the old [[http://code.google.com/p/yasnippet/issues/list][googlecode tracker]]).
 126
 127    If you run into problems using YASnippet, or have snippets to contribute,
 128    post to the [[http://groups.google.com/group/smart-snippet][yasnippet forum]]. Thank you very much for using YASnippet!
 129
 130 * Organizing snippets
 131
 132 ** Basic structure
 133
 134    Snippet collections can be stored in plain text files. They are arranged by
 135    sub-directories naming *snippet tables*. These mostly name Emacs major names.
 136
 137    #+begin_example
 138    .
 139    |-- c-mode
 140    |   `-- printf
 141    |-- java-mode
 142    |   `-- println
 143    `-- text-mode
 144        |-- email
 145        `-- time
 146    #+end_example
 147
 148    The collections are loaded into *snippet tables* which the triggering
 149    mechanism (see [[#expand-snippets][Expanding snippets]]) looks up and
 150    (hopefully) cause the right snippet to be expanded for you.
 151
 152 ** Setting up =yas-snippet-dirs=
 153
 154    The emacs variable [[sym:yas-snippet-dirs][=yas-snippet-dirs=]] tells YASnippet
 155    which collections to consider. It's used when you activate
 156    [[sym:yas-global-mode][=yas-global-mode=]] or call
 157    [[sym:yas-reload-all][=yas-reload-all=]] interactively.
 158
 159    The default considers:
 160
 161     - a personal collection that lives in =~/.emacs.d/snippets=
 162     - the bundled collection, taken as a relative path to =yasnippet.el= localtion
 163
 164    When you come across other snippet collections, do the following to try them
 165    out:
 166
 167    #+begin_src emacs-lisp :exports code
 168    ;; Develop in ~/emacs.d/mysnippets, but also
 169    ;; try out snippets in ~/Downloads/interesting-snippets
 170    (setq yas-snippet-dirs '("~/emacs.d/mysnippets"
 171                               "~/Downloads/interesting-snippets"))
 172
 173    ;; OR, keeping yasnippet's defaults try out ~/Downloads/interesting-snippets
 174    (setq yas-snippet-dirs (append yas-snippet-dirs
 175                                   '("~/Downloads/interesting-snippets")))
 176    #+end_src
 177
 178    Collections appearing earlier in the list shadow snippets with same names
 179    appearing in collections later in the list. [[sym:yas-new-snippet][=yas-new-snippet=]] always stores
 180    snippets in the first collection.
 181
 182 ** The =.yas-parents= file
 183
 184    It's very useful to have certain modes share snippets between themselves. To do
 185    this, choose a mode subdirectory and place a =.yas-parents= containing a
 186    whitespace-separated list of other mode names. When you reload those modes
 187    become parents of the original mode.
 188
 189    #+begin_example
 190    .
 191    |-- c-mode
 192    |   |-- .yas-parents    # contains "cc-mode text-mode"
 193    |   `-- printf
 194    |-- cc-mode
 195    |   |-- for
 196    |   `-- while
 197    |-- java-mode
 198    |   |-- .yas-parents    # contains "cc-mode text-mode"
 199    |   `-- println
 200    `-- text-mode
 201        |-- email
 202        `-- time
 203    #+end_example
 204
 205 ** TODO The =.yas-make-groups= file
 206
 207    If you place an empty plain text file =.yas-make-groups= inside one of the
 208    mode directories, the names of these sub-directories are considered groups of
 209    snippets and [[snippet-menu][the menu]] is organized much more cleanly:
 210
 211    (TODO image)
 212
 213    Another alternative way to achieve this is to place a =# group:= directive
 214    inside the snippet definition. See [[#writing-snippets][Writing Snippets]]
 215
 216    #+begin_example
 217    $ tree ruby-mode/
 218    ruby-mode/
 219    |-- .yas-make-groups
 220    |-- collections
 221    |   |-- each
 222    |   `-- ...
 223    |-- control structure
 224    |   |-- forin
 225    |   `-- ...
 226    |-- definitions
 227    |   `-- ...
 228    `-- general
 229       `-- ...
 230    #+end_example
 231
 232    Yet another way to create a nice snippet menu is to write into
 233    =.yas-make-groups= a menu definition. TODO
 234
 235 ** TODO The =.yas-setup.el= file
 236
 237 *** TODO
 238
 239 ** TODO The =.yas-compiled-snippet.el= file
 240
 241 *** TODO
 242
 243 ** The =.yas-skip= file
 244
 245 * Expanding Snippets
 246
 247    :PROPERTIES:
 248    :CUSTOM_ID: expand-snippets
 249    :END:
 250
 251   This section describes how YASnippet chooses snippets for expansion at point.
 252
 253   Maybe, you'll want some snippets to be expanded in a particular
 254   mode, or only under certain conditions, or be prompted using
 255
 256 ** Triggering expansion
 257
 258    To make a snippet expand after the cursor:
 259
 260    * Type the snippet's *trigger key* then calling [[sym:yas-expand][=yas-expand=]]. It's bound to
 261      =TAB= and =<tab>= by default, to change it use
 262
 263    #+begin_src emacs-lisp :exports code
 264      (define-key yas-minor-mode-map (kbd "<tab>") nil)
 265      (define-key yas-minor-mode-map (kbd "TAB") nil)
 266      (define-key yas-minor-mode-map (kbd "<the new key>") 'yas-expand)
 267    #+end_src
 268
 269    * Use the snippet's *keybinding*.
 270
 271    * Call [[sym:yas-insert-snippet][=yas-insert-snippet=]] (use =M-x
 272      yas-insert-snippet== or its keybinding =C-c & C-s=).
 273
 274    * By expanding directly from the "YASnippet" menu in the menu-bar
 275
 276    * Using hippie-expand
 277
 278    * Use m2m's excellent auto-complete
 279
 280 # Local Variables:
 281 # mode: org
 282 # fill-column: 80
 283 # coding: utf-8
 284 # End: