(xemacs.info)Intro to Keystrokes

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2.1 Keystrokes as Building Blocks of Key Sequences
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Earlier versions of Emacs used only the ASCII character set, which
defines 128 different character codes.  Some of these codes are
assigned graphic symbols like `a' and `='; the rest are control
characters, such as `Control-a' (also called `C-a').  `C-a' means you
hold down the <CTRL> key and then press `a'.

   Keybindings in XEmacs are not restricted to the set of keystrokes
that can be represented in ASCII.  XEmacs can tell the difference
between, for example, `Control-h', `Control-Shift-h', and `Backspace'.

   A keystroke is like a piano chord: you get it by simultaneously
striking several keys.  To be more precise, a keystroke consists of a
possibly empty set of modifiers followed by a single "keysym".  The set
of modifiers is small; it consists of `Control', `Meta', `Super',
`Hyper', and `Shift'.

   The rest of the keys on your keyboard, along with the mouse buttons,
make up the set of keysyms.  A keysym is usually what is printed on the
keys on your keyboard.  Here is a table of some of the symbolic names
for keysyms:
`a,b,c...'
     alphabetic keys

`f1,f2...'
     function keys

`button1'
     left mouse button

`button2'
     middle mouse button

`button3'
     right mouse button

`button1up'
     upstroke on the left mouse button

`button2up'
     upstroke on the middle mouse button

`button3up'
     upstroke on the right mouse button

`return'
     Return key

   Use the variable `keyboard-translate-table' only if you are on a
dumb tty, as it cannot handle input that cannot be represented as ASCII.
The value of this variable is a string used as a translate table for
keyboard input or `nil'.  Each character is looked up in this string
and the contents used instead.  If the string is of length `n',
character codes `N' and up are untranslated.  If you are running Emacs
under X, you should do the translations with the `xmodmap' program
instead.