Macros for Editing Data Specifications

of the Dynamic Publishing System by Karl Goldstein

The template system includes a set of simple macros that simplify the task of writing data specification files in Emacs. The macros are defined in a file named template.el in the root directory of the template distribution.

To manually load the macros, type ESC x load-file RETURN, followed by the path to the macro file. The load-file command can also be placed in your .emacs file to load the macros every time you start Emacs.

The macros all work in a similar fashion. Typing one of the commands begins an XML element of type template, datasource or variable. The macro pauses whenever your input is required. To resume the macro, type ESC C-c.

For forms, there are a series of admin pages under /admin/template to guide you through the process of creating a form specification from scratch. A similar set of pages is planned for data specifications.

Keyboard ShortcutDescription
C-x t sCreates a new template specification file
C-x t pCreates a new datasource of type param
C-x t eCreates a new datasource of type eval
C-x t mCreates a new datasource of type query and structure multirow.
C-x t rCreates a new datasource of type query and structure onerow.
C-x t oCreates a new datasource of type query and structure onevalue.
C-x t vCreates a new variable.

karlg@arsdigita.com