Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!bloom-beacon!mgm.mit.edu!wolfgang
From: wolfgang@mgm.mit.edu (Wolfgang Rupprecht)
Newsgroups: comp.emacs
Subject: Re: GNU 18.49 elisp question
Message-ID: <3507@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU>
Date: 5 Mar 88 21:33:05 GMT
References: <6878@drutx.ATT.COM>
Sender: daemon@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU
Reply-To: wolfgang@mgm.mit.edu (Wolfgang Rupprecht)
Organization: Freelance Software Consultant, Boston, Ma.
Lines: 51

In article <6878@drutx.ATT.COM> jimb@drutx.ATT.COM (jim bryant) writes:
>i'm trying to write a simple function that will set "fill-prefix"
>before calling "fill-region". for example
>#     this is the comment block
>#     that i would like to fill
>#     it probably would fit on 2 lines

Ok, I'll bite. Here is a slightly rearranged version of your code,
with the ????'s filled in.

#     this is the comment block that i would like to fill it probably
#     would fit on 2 lines

(defun fill-unix-comment-block ()
  "How about some snazzy documentation string here."
  (interactive)
  (save-excursion
    (beginning-of-line)
    (if (looking-at "#")
        (progn
	  (forward-char 1)
	  (skip-chars-forward " \t")
	  (let ((fill-prefix))		;don't trash the real fill-prefix!
	    (set-fill-prefix) 
	    (fill-paragraph nil)))
      (fill-paragraph nil))))

; With a bit more work, you could make the fill-prefix detection much
; more general, and not hardwire the "^#[ \t]*" regexp into the code.

(defvar fill-comment-block-regexp "^a-zA-Z0-9"
  "*Regexp to identify the fill-prefix for the fill-comment-block function.")

(defun fill-comment-block ()
  "Fill a comment block. Uses fill-comment-block-regexp to identify the
fill-prefix. If none found, uses the default fill-prefix."
  (interactive)
  (save-excursion
    (beginning-of-line)
    (if (looking-at (concat "[" fill-comment-block-regexp "]"))
        (progn
	  (skip-chars-forward fill-comment-block-regexp)
	  (let ((fill-prefix))
	    (set-fill-prefix) 
	    (fill-paragraph nil)))
      (fill-paragraph nil))))

---
Wolfgang Rupprecht	ARPA:  wolfgang@mgm.mit.edu (IP 18.82.0.114)
326 Commonwealth Ave.	UUCP:  mit-eddie!mgm.mit.edu!wolfgang
Boston, Ma. 02115	TEL:   (617) 267-4365