Elisp: Abbrev Hook

By Xah Lee. Date: . Last updated: .

Abbrev's Hook

The last step of abbrev expansion is a hook function for the abbrev.

The hook can be added for each abbrev using define-abbrev-table or define-abbrev

If this hook function returns true, and has Symbol Property no-self-insert true, then the char that triggered the abbrev will not be inserted. 

;; example of abbrev hook

;; attaching a hook when defining an abbrev
(define-abbrev xx-abbrev-table "fn" "function" xx--abhook)

(defun xx--abhook ()
  "Abbrev hook function, used for `define-abbrev'.
Move cursor back to ▮.
Also, has property `no-self-insert'."
  (when (search-backward "▮" (max (point-min) (- (point) 200)) t) (delete-char 1))
  t)

;; prevent inserting the char that triggered expansion
(put 'xx--abhook 'no-self-insert t)

Elisp, creating abbrev