Programming NeXT / 2026-05-07 11:42:54
Programming on and for the NeXT can be surprisingly pleasant but also highly frustrating!
Writing Code
Emacs
The Edit text editor coming with NeXTStep is quite limited; for example, it doesn't have a feature to jump to a particular line. The best text/code editor on NeXTStep seems to be GNU Emacs v19.28.1 of 22/01/1996. Although integrated into the NeXT GUI, it's still Emacs and requires learning many keyboard shortcuts. These shortcuts are slightly different from the usual, more recent ones. Here is a table summarising the most useful.
NeXTStep Emas Keyboard Shortcuts (with C = CTRL, M = Alternate, S = Shift, Cmd = Command)
| Shortcuts |
Actions |
Shortcuts |
Actions |
| C+x C+f |
Open a file |
C+x h |
Select all text |
| C+x C+s |
Save current buffer |
C+k |
Kill current line |
| C+x C+w |
Save current buffer as... |
C+d |
Delete char |
| C+x C+c |
Quit Emacs |
C+- (or _) |
Undo the change to the text |
| C+g |
Cancel current operation |
C+Space |
Start selecting text |
| C+h b |
Show keyboard bindings |
C+g |
Stop selecting text |
| |
|
M+w |
Copy selected text |
| C+x 1 |
Show only one window |
C+w |
Cut selected text |
| C+x 2 |
Split the window horizontally |
C+y |
Paste copied/cut text |
| C+x 3 |
Split the window vertically |
|
|
| C+x 0 |
Remove (splitted) window |
C+a (or Left Arrow) |
Jump to the beginning of the line |
| C+x o |
Jump to next window |
C+e (or Right Arrow) |
Jump to the end of the line |
| |
|
C+Up Arrow |
Jump to the beginning of the buffer |
| C+x C+b |
List the buffers |
C+Down Arrow |
Jump to the end of the buffer |
| C+x b |
Switch buffer in the window |
S+Up Arrow |
Scroll up the buffer by one page |
| C+x k |
Kill current buffer |
S+Down Arrow |
Scroll down the buffer by one page |
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|
| C+x 5 2 also Cmd+n |
Create a new frame |
|
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| C+x 5 0 also Cmd+w |
Close the current frame |
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Other tools
Creating User Interfaces
Interface Builder
Building Projects
Project Builder
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