


READLINE(3)                                           READLINE(3)


NAME
       readline - get a line from a user with editing

SYNOPSIS
       #include <readline.h>
       #include <history.h>

       char *readline (prompt)
       char *prompt;

COPYRIGHT
       Readline  is Copyright (C) 1989, 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996 by
       the Free Software Foundation, Inc.

DESCRIPTION
       readline will read a line from the terminal and return it,
       using prompt as a prompt.  If prompt is null, no prompt is
       issued.  The line returned is allocated with malloc(3), so
       the  caller must free it when finished.  The line returned
       has the final newline removed, so only  the  text  of  the
       line remains.

       readline  offers  editing  capabilities  while the user is
       entering the line.  By default, the line editing  commands
       are  similar  to  those of emacs.  A vi-style line editing
       interface is also available.

RETURN VALUE
       readline returns the text of the line read.  A blank  line
       returns  the  empty  string.   If EOF is encountered while
       reading a line, and the line is empty, NULL  is  returned.
       If  an EOF is read with a non-empty line, it is treated as
       a newline.

NOTATION
       An emacs-style notation  is  used  to  denote  keystrokes.
       Control  keys  are  denoted by C-key, e.g., C-n means Con-
       trol-N.  Similarly, meta keys are denoted by M-key, so M-x
       means Meta-X.  (On keyboards without a meta key, M-x means
       ESC x, i.e., press the Escape key then the  x  key.   This
       makes  ESC  the  meta prefix.  The combination M-C-x means
       ESC-Control-x, or press the Escape key then hold the  Con-
       trol key while pressing the x key.)

       Readline  commands  may  be given numeric arguments, which
       normally act as a repeat count.  Sometimes, however, it is
       the  sign  of the argument that is significant.  Passing a
       negative argument to a command that acts  in  the  forward
       direction  (e.g., kill-line) causes that command to act in
       a backward direction.  Commands whose behavior with  argu-
       ments deviates from this are noted.

       When  a  command  is  described  as killing text, the text
       deleted is saved for possible future retrieval  (yanking).



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READLINE(3)                                           READLINE(3)


       The  killed  text  is  saved  in a kill ring.  Consecutive
       kills cause the text to  be  accumulated  into  one  unit,
       which  can  be  yanked all at once.  Commands which do not
       kill text separate the chunks of text on the kill ring.

INITIALIZATION FILE
       Readline is customized by putting commands in an  initial-
       ization file (the inputrc file).  The name of this file is
       taken from the value of the INPUTRC environment  variable.
       If  that  variable  is  unset,  the default is ~/.inputrc.
       When a program which uses the readline library starts  up,
       the  init file is read, and the key bindings and variables
       are set.  There are only a few basic constructs allowed in
       the  readline  init file.  Blank lines are ignored.  Lines
       beginning with a # are comments.  Lines beginning with a $
       indicate  conditional  constructs.  Other lines denote key
       bindings and variable settings.  Each program  using  this
       library may add its own commands and bindings.

       For example, placing

              M-Control-u: universal-argument
       or
              C-Meta-u: universal-argument
       into  the  inputrc  would  make M-C-u execute the readline
       command universal-argument.

       The following  symbolic  character  names  are  recognized
       while processing key bindings: RUBOUT, DEL, ESC, LFD, NEW-
       LINE, RET, RETURN, SPC, SPACE, and TAB.   In  addition  to
       command  names,  readline  allows  keys  to  be bound to a
       string that is inserted when the key is pressed (a macro).


   Key Bindings
       The  syntax  for  controlling  key bindings in the inputrc
       file is simple.  All that is required is the name  of  the
       command or the text of a macro and a key sequence to which
       it should be bound. The name may be specified  in  one  of
       two  ways:  as a symbolic key name, possibly with Meta- or
       Control- prefixes, or as a key sequence.  When  using  the
       form  keyname:function-name  or macro, keyname is the name
       of a key spelled out in English.  For example:

              Control-u: universal-argument
              Meta-Rubout: backward-kill-word
              Control-o: ">&output"

       In the above example, C-u is bound to the function univer-
       sal-argument,   M-DEL  is  bound  to  the  function  back-
       ward-kill-word,  and  C-o  is  bound  to  run  the   macro
       expressed  on  the right hand side (that is, to insert the
       text >&output into the line).




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READLINE(3)                                           READLINE(3)


       In the second form, "keyseq":function-name or macro,  key-
       seq differs from keyname above in that strings denoting an
       entire key  sequence  may  be  specified  by  placing  the
       sequence  within  double quotes.  Some GNU Emacs style key
       escapes can be used, as in the following example.

              "\C-u": universal-argument
              "\C-x\C-r": re-read-init-file
              "\e[11~": "Function Key 1"

       In this example, C-u is again bound to the  function  uni-
       versal-argument.    C-x  C-r  is  bound  to  the  function
       re-read-init-file, and ESC [ 1 1 ~ is bound to insert  the
       text Function Key 1.  The full set of escape sequences is

              \C-    control prefix

              \M-    meta prefix

              \e     an escape character

              \\     backslash

              \"     literal "

              \'     literal '

       When entering the text of a macro, single or double quotes
       should be used to indicate a macro  definition.   Unquoted
       text  is  assumed  to  be a function name.  Backslash will
       quote any character in the macro text, including " and  '.

       Bash  allows  the current readline key bindings to be dis-
       played or modified with the  bind  builtin  command.   The
       editing  mode  may  be  switched during interactive use by
       using the -o option to the  set  builtin  command.   Other
       programs  using  this  library provide similar mechanisms.
       The inputrc file may be edited and re-read  if  a  program
       does  not provide any other means to incorporate new bind-
       ings.

   Variables
       Readline has variables that can be used  to  further  cus-
       tomize its behavior.  A variable may be set in the inputrc
       file with a statement of the form

              set variable-name value

       Except where noted, readline variables can take the values
       On or Off.  The variables and their default values are:

       bell-style (audible)
              Controls  what  happens when readline wants to ring
              the terminal bell.  If set to none, readline  never



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READLINE(3)                                           READLINE(3)


              rings the bell.  If set to visible, readline uses a
              visible bell if one is available.  If set to  audi-
              ble, readline attempts to ring the terminal's bell.
       comment-begin (``#'')
              The string that is inserted in  vi  mode  when  the
              insert-comment  command  is executed.  This command
              is bound to M-# in emacs mode and to # in  vi  com-
              mand mode.
       completion-query-items (100)
              This  determines  when  the  user  is queried about
              viewing the number of possible  completions  gener-
              ated  by  the possible-completions command.  It may
              be set to any integer value greater than  or  equal
              to  zero.  If the number of possible completions is
              greater than or equal to the value  of  this  vari-
              able, the user is asked whether or not he wishes to
              view them; otherwise they are simply listed on  the
              terminal.
       convert-meta (On)
              If set to On, readline will convert characters with
              the eighth bit set to  an  ASCII  key  sequence  by
              stripping  the  eighth bit and prepending an escape
              character (in effect, using escape as the meta pre-
              fix).
       disable-completion (Off)
              If  set  to  On, readline will inhibit word comple-
              tion.  Completion characters will be inserted  into
              the line as if they had been mapped to self-insert.
       editing-mode (emacs)
              Controls whether readline begins with a set of  key
              bindings  similar to emacs or vi.  editing-mode can
              be set to either emacs or vi.
       enable-keypad (Off)
              When set to On, readline will  try  to  enable  the
              application keypad when it is called.  Some systems
              need this to enable the arrow keys.
       expand-tilde (Off)
              If set to on, tilde  expansion  is  performed  when
              readline attempts word completion.
       horizontal-scroll-mode (Off)
              When  set  to  On, makes readline use a single line
              for display, scrolling the input horizontally on  a
              single  screen line when it becomes longer than the
              screen width rather than wrapping to a new line.
       keymap (emacs)
              Set the current readline keymap.  The set of  legal
              keymap  names is emacs, emacs-standard, emacs-meta,
              emacs-ctlx, vi, vi-move, vi-command, and vi-insert.
              vi is equivalent to vi-command; emacs is equivalent
              to emacs-standard.  The default value is emacs; the
              value  of  editing-mode  also  affects  the default
              keymap.
       mark-directories (On)
              If set to On,  completed  directory  names  have  a



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READLINE(3)                                           READLINE(3)


              slash appended.
       mark-modified-lines (Off)
              If set to On, history lines that have been modified
              are displayed with a preceding asterisk (*).
       meta-flag (Off)
              If set to On, readline will enable eight-bit  input
              (that  is,  it will not strip the high bit from the
              characters it reads), regardless of what the termi-
              nal claims it can support.
       output-meta (Off)
              If set to On, readline will display characters with
              the eighth bit set directly rather than as a  meta-
              prefixed escape sequence.
       show-all-if-ambiguous (Off)
              This  alters the default behavior of the completion
              functions.  If set to on,  words  which  have  more
              than  one  possible completion cause the matches to
              be listed immediately instead of ringing the  bell.
       visible-stats (Off)
              If set to On, a character denoting a file's type as
              reported by stat(2) is  appended  to  the  filename
              when listing possible completions.

   Conditional Constructs
       Readline  implements  a  facility similar in spirit to the
       conditional compilation features  of  the  C  preprocessor
       which allows key bindings and variable settings to be per-
       formed as the result of tests.   There  are  three  parser
       directives used.

       $if    The  $if construct allows bindings to be made based
              on the editing mode, the terminal  being  used,  or
              the  application  using  readline.  The text of the
              test extends to the end of the line; no  characters
              are required to isolate it.

              mode   The  mode= form of the $if directive is used
                     to test whether readline is in emacs  or  vi
                     mode.   This may be used in conjunction with
                     the set keymap command, for instance, to set
                     bindings  in  the  emacs-standard and emacs-
                     ctlx keymaps only if  readline  is  starting
                     out in emacs mode.

              term   The term= form may be used to include termi-
                     nal-specific key bindings, perhaps  to  bind
                     the  key  sequences output by the terminal's
                     function keys.  The word on the  right  side
                     of  the = is tested against the full name of
                     the terminal and the portion of the terminal
                     name before the first -.  This allows sun to
                     match both sun and sun-cmd, for instance.





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READLINE(3)                                           READLINE(3)


              application
                     The application construct is used to include
                     application-specific settings.  Each program
                     using the readline library sets the applica-
                     tion  name,  and  an initialization file can
                     test for a particular value.  This could  be
                     used to bind key sequences to functions use-
                     ful for a specific program.   For  instance,
                     the  following  command  adds a key sequence
                     that quotes the current or previous word  in
                     Bash:
                     $if bash
                     # Quote the current or previous word
                     "\C-xq": "\eb\"\ef\""
                     $endif

       $endif This  command,  as you saw in the previous example,
              terminates an $if command.

       $else  Commands in this branch of the  $if  directive  are
              executed if the test fails.

SEARCHING
       Readline  provides commands for searching through the com-
       mand history for  lines  containing  a  specified  string.
       There   are   two   search  modes:  incremental  and  non-
       incremental.

       Incremental searches begin before the  user  has  finished
       typing the search string.  As each character of the search
       string is typed, readline displays the next entry from the
       history  matching the string typed so far.  An incremental
       search requires only as many characters as needed to  find
       the  desired  history entry.  The Escape character is used
       to terminate an incremental search.  Control-J  will  also
       terminate the search.  Control-G will abort an incremental
       search and restore the original line.  When the search  is
       terminated, the history entry containing the search string
       becomes the current line.  To find other matching  entries
       in the history list, type Control-S or Control-R as appro-
       priate.  This will search backward or forward in the  his-
       tory for the next line matching the search string typed so
       far.  Any other key sequence bound to a  readline  command
       will  terminate  the search and execute that command.  For
       instance, a newline will terminate the search  and  accept
       the  line,  thereby executing the command from the history
       list.

       Non-incremental searches read  the  entire  search  string
       before starting to search for matching history lines.  The
       search string may be typed by the user or part of the con-
       tents of the current line.





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READLINE(3)                                           READLINE(3)


EDITING COMMANDS
       The  following  is a list of the names of the commands and
       the default key sequences to which they are  bound.   Com-
       mand  names  without  an  accompanying  key  sequence  are
       unbound by default.

   Commands for Moving
       beginning-of-line (C-a)
              Move to the start of the current line.
       end-of-line (C-e)
              Move to the end of the line.
       forward-char (C-f)
              Move forward a character.
       backward-char (C-b)
              Move back a character.
       forward-word (M-f)
              Move forward to the end of the  next  word.   Words
              are  composed  of  alphanumeric characters (letters
              and digits).
       backward-word (M-b)
              Move back to the start of this,  or  the  previous,
              word.   Words  are composed of alphanumeric charac-
              ters (letters and digits).
       clear-screen (C-l)
              Clear the screen leaving the current  line  at  the
              top  of  the screen.  With an argument, refresh the
              current line without clearing the screen.
       redraw-current-line
              Refresh the current line.

   Commands for Manipulating the History
       accept-line (Newline, Return)
              Accept the line regardless of where the cursor  is.
              If  this  line  is non-empty, add it to the history
              list. If the line is a modified history line,  then
              restore the history line to its original state.
       previous-history (C-p)
              Fetch  the  previous command from the history list,
              moving back in the list.
       next-history (C-n)
              Fetch the next command from the history list,  mov-
              ing forward in the list.
       beginning-of-history (M-<)
              Move to the first line in the history.
       end-of-history (M->)
              Move  to  the  end  of the input history, i.e., the
              line currently being entered.
       reverse-search-history (C-r)
              Search backward starting at the  current  line  and
              moving `up' through the history as necessary.  This
              is an incremental search.
       forward-search-history (C-s)
              Search forward starting at  the  current  line  and
              moving  `down'  through  the  history as necessary.



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READLINE(3)                                           READLINE(3)


              This is an incremental search.
       non-incremental-reverse-search-history (M-p)
              Search backward through the history starting at the
              current  line  using a non-incremental search for a
              string supplied by the user.
       non-incremental-forward-search-history (M-n)
              Search forward through the  history  using  a  non-
              incremental  search  for  a  string supplied by the
              user.
       history-search-forward
              Search forward through the history for  the  string
              of characters between the start of the current line
              and the current cursor position (the point).   This
              is a non-incremental search.
       history-search-backward
              Search  backward through the history for the string
              of characters between the start of the current line
              and the point.  This is a non-incremental search.
       yank-nth-arg (M-C-y)
              Insert  the  first argument to the previous command
              (usually the second word on the previous  line)  at
              point (the current cursor position).  With an argu-
              ment n, insert the nth word from the previous  com-
              mand  (the words in the previous command begin with
              word 0).  A negative argument inserts the nth  word
              from the end of the previous command.
       yank-last-arg (M-., M-_)
              Insert  the  last  argument to the previous command
              (the last word  of  the  previous  history  entry).
              With an argument, behave exactly like yank-nth-arg.

   Commands for Changing Text
       delete-char (C-d)
              Delete the character under the cursor.  If point is
              at  the beginning of the line, there are no charac-
              ters in the line, and the last character typed  was
              not C-d, then return EOF.
       backward-delete-char (Rubout)
              Delete the character behind the cursor.  When given
              a numeric argument, save the deleted  text  on  the
              kill ring.
       quoted-insert (C-q, C-v)
              Add  the  next  character that you type to the line
              verbatim.  This is how to  insert  characters  like
              C-q, for example.
       tab-insert (M-TAB)
              Insert a tab character.
       self-insert (a, b, A, 1, !, ...)
              Insert the character typed.
       transpose-chars (C-t)
              Drag  the  character  before point forward over the
              character at point.  Point moves forward  as  well.
              If  point is at the end of the line, then transpose
              the  two   characters   before   point.    Negative



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READLINE(3)                                           READLINE(3)


              arguments don't work.
       transpose-words (M-t)
              Drag  the  word  behind the cursor past the word in
              front of the cursor moving  the  cursor  over  that
              word as well.
       upcase-word (M-u)
              Uppercase  the current (or following) word.  With a
              negative argument, do the previous word, but do not
              move point.
       downcase-word (M-l)
              Lowercase  the current (or following) word.  With a
              negative argument, do the previous word, but do not
              move point.
       capitalize-word (M-c)
              Capitalize the current (or following) word.  With a
              negative argument, do the previous word, but do not
              move point.

   Killing and Yanking
       kill-line (C-k)
              Kill  the  text from the current cursor position to
              the end of the line.
       backward-kill-line (C-x Rubout)
              Kill backward to the beginning of the line.
       unix-line-discard (C-u)
              Kill backward from point to the  beginning  of  the
              line.
       kill-whole-line
              Kill  all characters on the current line, no matter
              where the cursor is.
       kill-word (M-d)
              Kill from the cursor to  the  end  of  the  current
              word,  or  if between words, to the end of the next
              word.  Word boundaries are the same as  those  used
              by forward-word.
       backward-kill-word (M-Rubout)
              Kill  the  word behind the cursor.  Word boundaries
              are the same as those used by backward-word.
       unix-word-rubout (C-w)
              Kill the word behind the cursor, using white  space
              as  a  word boundary.  The word boundaries are dif-
              ferent from backward-kill-word.
       delete-horizontal-space (M-\)
              Delete all spaces and tabs around point.
       kill-region
              Kill the text between the  point  and  mark  (saved
              cursor  position).  This text is referred to as the
              region.
       copy-region-as-kill
              Copy the text in the region to the kill buffer.
       copy-backward-word
              Copy the word before point to the kill buffer.
       copy-forward-word
              Copy the word following point to the kill buffer.



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READLINE(3)                                           READLINE(3)


       yank (C-y)
              Yank the top of the kill ring into  the  buffer  at
              the cursor.
       yank-pop (M-y)
              Rotate  the  kill ring, and yank the new top.  Only
              works following yank or yank-pop.

   Numeric Arguments
       digit-argument (M-0, M-1, ..., M--)
              Add this digit to the argument  already  accumulat-
              ing,  or  start a new argument.  M-- starts a nega-
              tive argument.
       universal-argument
              This is another way to  specify  an  argument.   If
              this  command  is  followed  by one or more digits,
              optionally with a leading minus sign, those  digits
              define the argument.  If the command is followed by
              digits, executing universal-argument again ends the
              numeric  argument,  but is otherwise ignored.  As a
              special case, if this command is  immediately  fol-
              lowed  by  a  character  that is neither a digit or
              minus sign, the argument count for the next command
              is  multiplied by four.  The argument count is ini-
              tially one, so executing this  function  the  first
              time  makes  the argument count four, a second time
              makes the argument count sixteen, and so on.

   Completing
       complete (TAB)
              Attempt to perform completion on  the  text  before
              point.  The actual completion performed is applica-
              tion-specific.  Bash, for instance,  attempts  com-
              pletion  treating  the  text  as a variable (if the
              text begins with $), username (if the  text  begins
              with  ~),  hostname (if the text begins with @), or
              command (including aliases and functions) in  turn.
              If none of these produces a match, filename comple-
              tion is attempted.  Gdb, on the other hand,  allows
              completion  of program functions and variables, and
              only attempts  filename  completion  under  certain
              circumstances.
       possible-completions (M-?)
              List  the  possible  completions of the text before
              point.
       insert-completions (M-*)
              Insert all completions of  the  text  before  point
              that   would   have   been   generated   by  possi-
              ble-completions.

   Keyboard Macros
       start-kbd-macro (C-x ()
              Begin saving the characters typed into the  current
              keyboard macro.




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READLINE(3)                                           READLINE(3)


       end-kbd-macro (C-x ))
              Stop  saving  the characters typed into the current
              keyboard macro and store the definition.
       call-last-kbd-macro (C-x e)
              Re-execute the last keyboard macro defined, by mak-
              ing  the characters in the macro appear as if typed
              at the keyboard.

   Miscellaneous
       re-read-init-file (C-x C-r)
              Read in the  contents  of  the  inputrc  file,  and
              incorporate  any  bindings  or variable assignments
              found there.
       abort (C-g)
              Abort the current editing command and ring the ter-
              minal's   bell   (subject   to   the   setting   of
              bell-style).
       do-uppercase-version (M-a, M-b, M-x, ...)
              If the metafied character x is lowercase,  run  the
              command  that  is bound to the corresponding upper-
              case character.
       prefix-meta (ESC)
              Metafy the next character typed.  ESC f is  equiva-
              lent to Meta-f.
       undo (C-_, C-x C-u)
              Incremental  undo,  separately  remembered for each
              line.
       revert-line (M-r)
              Undo all changes made to this line.  This  is  like
              typing  the undo command enough times to return the
              line to its initial state.
       tilde-expand (M-~)
              Perform tilde expansion on the current word.
       set-mark (C-@, M-<space>)
              Set the mark to the current point.   If  a  numeric
              argument is supplied, the mark is set to that posi-
              tion.
       exchange-point-and-mark (C-x C-x)
              Swap the point with the mark.  The  current  cursor
              position  is set to the saved position, and the old
              cursor position is saved as the mark.
       character-search (C-])
              A character is read and point is moved to the  next
              occurrence  of  that  character.   A negative count
              searches for previous occurrences.
       character-search-backward (M-C-])
              A character is read and point is moved to the  pre-
              vious  occurrence  of  that  character.  A negative
              count searches for subsequent occurrences.
       insert-comment (M-#)
              The value of the readline comment-begin variable is
              inserted  at the beginning of the current line, and
              the line is accepted  as  if  a  newline  had  been
              typed.    This  makes  the  current  line  a  shell



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READLINE(3)                                           READLINE(3)


              comment.
       glob-expand-word (C-x *)
              The word before point is treated as a  pattern  for
              pathname  expansion,  and the list of matching file
              names is inserted, replacing the word.
       glob-list-expansions (C-x g)
              The list of expansions that would have been  gener-
              ated by glob-expand-word is inserted into the line,
              replacing the word before point.
       dump-functions
              Print all of the functions and their  key  bindings
              to  the readline output stream.  If a numeric argu-
              ment is supplied, the output is formatted in such a
              way that it can be made part of an inputrc file.
       dump-variables
              Print  all of the settable variables and their val-
              ues to the readline output stream.   If  a  numeric
              argument  is  supplied,  the output is formatted in
              such a way that it can be made part of  an  inputrc
              file.
       dump-macros
              Print  all  of  the readline key sequences bound to
              macros and the strings they ouput.   If  a  numeric
              argument  is  supplied,  the output is formatted in
              such a way that it can be made part of  an  inputrc
              file.
       emacs-editing-mode (C-e)
              When  in  vi  editing mode, this causes a switch to
              emacs editing mode.
       vi-editing-mode (M-C-j)
              When in emacs editing mode, this causes a switch to
              vi editing mode.

DEFAULT KEY BINDINGS
       The  following is a list of the default emacs and vi bind-
       ings.  Characters with the 8th  bit  set  are  written  as
       M-<character>, and are referred to as metafied characters.
       The printable ASCII characters not mentioned in  the  list
       of  emacs  standard  bindings are bound to the self-insert
       function, which just inserts the given character into  the
       input  line.   In  vi  insertion  mode, all characters not
       specifically mentioned are bound to self-insert.   Charac-
       ters  assigned to signal generation by stty(1) or the ter-
       minal driver, such as C-Z or C-C,  retain  that  function.
       Upper  and lower case metafied characters are bound to the
       same function in the emacs mode meta keymap.  The  remain-
       ing  characters are unbound, which causes readline to ring
       the bell (subject to the setting of the  bell-style  vari-
       able).

   Emacs Mode
             Emacs Standard bindings

             "C-@"  set-mark



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READLINE(3)                                           READLINE(3)


             "C-A"  beginning-of-line
             "C-B"  backward-char
             "C-D"  delete-char
             "C-E"  end-of-line
             "C-F"  forward-char
             "C-G"  abort
             "C-H"  backward-delete-char
             "C-I"  complete
             "C-J"  accept-line
             "C-K"  kill-line
             "C-L"  clear-screen
             "C-M"  accept-line
             "C-N"  next-history
             "C-P"  previous-history
             "C-Q"  quoted-insert
             "C-R"  reverse-search-history
             "C-S"  forward-search-history
             "C-T"  transpose-chars
             "C-U"  unix-line-discard
             "C-V"  quoted-insert
             "C-W"  unix-word-rubout
             "C-Y"  yank
             "C-]"  character-search
             "C-_"  undo
             " " to "/"  self-insert
             "0"  to "9"  self-insert
             ":"  to "~"  self-insert
             "C-?"  backward-delete-char

             Emacs Meta bindings

             "M-C-G"  abort
             "M-C-H"  backward-kill-word
             "M-C-I"  tab-insert
             "M-C-J"  vi-editing-mode
             "M-C-M"  vi-editing-mode
             "M-C-R"  revert-line
             "M-C-Y"  yank-nth-arg
             "M-C-["  complete
             "M-C-]"  character-search-backward
             "M-space"  set-mark
             "M-#"  insert-comment
             "M-&"  tilde-expand
             "M-*"  insert-completions
             "M--"  digit-argument
             "M-."  yank-last-arg
             "M-0"  digit-argument
             "M-1"  digit-argument
             "M-2"  digit-argument
             "M-3"  digit-argument
             "M-4"  digit-argument
             "M-5"  digit-argument
             "M-6"  digit-argument
             "M-7"  digit-argument



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READLINE(3)                                           READLINE(3)


             "M-8"  digit-argument
             "M-9"  digit-argument
             "M-<"  beginning-of-history
             "M-="  possible-completions
             "M->"  end-of-history
             "M-?"  possible-completions
             "M-B"  backward-word
             "M-C"  capitalize-word
             "M-D"  kill-word
             "M-F"  forward-word
             "M-L"  downcase-word
             "M-N"  non-incremental-forward-search-history
             "M-P"  non-incremental-reverse-search-history
             "M-R"  revert-line
             "M-T"  transpose-words
             "M-U"  upcase-word
             "M-Y"  yank-pop
             "M-\"  delete-horizontal-space
             "M-~"  tilde-expand
             "M-C-?"  backward-delete-word
             "M-_"  yank-last-arg

             Emacs Control-X bindings

             "C-XC-G"  abort
             "C-XC-R"  re-read-init-file
             "C-XC-U"  undo
             "C-XC-X"  exchange-point-and-mark
             "C-X("  start-kbd-macro
             "C-X)"  end-kbd-macro
             "C-XE"  call-last-kbd-macro
             "C-XC-?"  backward-kill-line


   VI Mode bindings
             VI Insert Mode functions

             "C-D"  vi-eof-maybe
             "C-H"  backward-delete-char
             "C-I"  complete
             "C-J"  accept-line
             "C-M"  accept-line
             "C-R"  reverse-search-history
             "C-S"  forward-search-history
             "C-T"  transpose-chars
             "C-U"  unix-line-discard
             "C-V"  quoted-insert
             "C-W"  unix-word-rubout
             "C-Y"  yank
             "C-["  vi-movement-mode
             "C-_"  undo
             " " to "~"  self-insert
             "C-?"  backward-delete-char




GNU                         1997 Feb 5                         14





READLINE(3)                                           READLINE(3)


             VI Command Mode functions

             "C-D"  vi-eof-maybe
             "C-E"  emacs-editing-mode
             "C-G"  abort
             "C-H"  backward-char
             "C-J"  accept-line
             "C-K"  kill-line
             "C-L"  clear-screen
             "C-M"  accept-line
             "C-N"  next-history
             "C-P"  previous-history
             "C-Q"  quoted-insert
             "C-R"  reverse-search-history
             "C-S"  forward-search-history
             "C-T"  transpose-chars
             "C-U"  unix-line-discard
             "C-V"  quoted-insert
             "C-W"  unix-word-rubout
             "C-Y"  yank
             " "  forward-char
             "#"  insert-comment
             "$"  end-of-line
             "%"  vi-match
             "&"  vi-tilde-expand
             "*"  vi-complete
             "+"  next-history
             ","  vi-char-search
             "-"  previous-history
             "."  vi-redo
             "/"  vi-search
             "0"  beginning-of-line
             "1" to "9"  vi-arg-digit
             ";"  vi-char-search
             "="  vi-complete
             "?"  vi-search
             "A"  vi-append-eol
             "B"  vi-prev-word
             "C"  vi-change-to
             "D"  vi-delete-to
             "E"  vi-end-word
             "F"  vi-char-search
             "G"  vi-fetch-history
             "I"  vi-insert-beg
             "N"  vi-search-again
             "P"  vi-put
             "R"  vi-replace
             "S"  vi-subst
             "T"  vi-char-search
             "U"  revert-line
             "W"  vi-next-word
             "X"  backward-delete-char
             "Y"  vi-yank-to
             "\"  vi-complete



GNU                         1997 Feb 5                         15





READLINE(3)                                           READLINE(3)


             "^"  vi-first-print
             "_"  vi-yank-arg
             "`"  vi-goto-mark
             "a"  vi-append-mode
             "b"  vi-prev-word
             "c"  vi-change-to
             "d"  vi-delete-to
             "e"  vi-end-word
             "f"  vi-char-search
             "h"  backward-char
             "i"  vi-insertion-mode
             "j"  next-history
             "k"  prev-history
             "l"  forward-char
             "m"  vi-set-mark
             "n"  vi-search-again
             "p"  vi-put
             "r"  vi-change-char
             "s"  vi-subst
             "t"  vi-char-search
             "u"  undo
             "w"  vi-next-word
             "x"  vi-delete
             "y"  vi-yank-to
             "|"  vi-column
             "~"  vi-change-case

SEE ALSO
       The Gnu Readline Library, Brian Fox and Chet Ramey
       The Gnu History Library, Brian Fox and Chet Ramey
       bash(1)

FILES
       ~/.inputrc
              Individual readline initialization file

AUTHORS
       Brian Fox, Free Software Foundation (primary author)
       bfox@ai.MIT.Edu

       Chet Ramey, Case Western Reserve University
       chet@ins.CWRU.Edu

BUG REPORTS
       If  you find a bug in readline, you should report it.  But
       first, you should make sure that it really is a  bug,  and
       that  it  appears  in  the  latest version of the readline
       library that you have.

       Once you have determined that a bug actually exists,  mail
       a bug report to bug-readline@prep.ai.MIT.Edu.  If you have
       a fix, you are welcome to mail that as well!   Suggestions
       and  `philosophical'  bug  reports  may  be mailed to bug-
       readline@prep.ai.MIT.Edu or posted to the Usenet newsgroup



GNU                         1997 Feb 5                         16





READLINE(3)                                           READLINE(3)


       gnu.bash.bug.

       Comments  and  bug  reports  concerning  this  manual page
       should be directed to chet@ins.CWRU.Edu.

BUGS
       It's too big and too slow.


















































GNU                         1997 Feb 5                         17


