Minibuffer input
Since the minibuffer is just like any other
buffer, you can use editing
keystrokes to modify what you've typed there or what GNU Emacs has
already filled in for you. GNU Emacs also provides input completion
in the minibuffer -- when you are typing text, you can press the SPC or
TAB keys to have GNU Emacs try to complete what you're typing. Type
C-h f. At the prompt, type "self-insert-c" and then type TAB. Notice how
GNU Emacs completes the name "self-insert-command". Now use the DEL key
to back up the cursor so that only "self-insert-" is showing in the
minibuffer. When you press TAB now, a new window will appear showing
that "self-insert-" matches both "self-insert-and-exit" and
"self-insert-command". GNU Emacs doesn't know which one you want, so it's
waiting for you to type the rest of the function name. At this point,
you could type c TAB to complete the name.
SPC works just like TAB except that it stops at punctuation. If you've
already entered enough input to make the name unique, you can just
press RET.
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