How to type pointer arrow -> in C quickly?

We often need to insert the arrow (->) to dereference the pointer and access its member. Is there a way to do this quickly?

How would you want this done? Like through a key bind or you press a key like “-“ and it inserts “->”?

I type - and then >. But honestly, you can put that on a key chord. Is it worth it?

Using [key chords](https://github.com/emacsorphanage/key-chord) (untested though) (require 'key-chord) (key-chord-mode 1) (key-chord-define c-mode-map "--" "->") then type `--` quickly and will insert pointer arrow, but of course could change to any key chord that you like.

Since using shift for the ">" is a bit slow for me, I thought it would be good to convert two consecutive dots into an arrow in C/C++. I quickly put up a minor mode for that. ``` (defun shapeless-c-arrow-insert-dot () (interactive) (if (looking-back "\\.") (progn (backward-delete-char 1) (insert "->")) (insert "."))) (define-minor-mode shapeless-c-arrow-mode "Quickly insert arrow operator. ->" :keymap (let ((map (make-sparse-keymap))) (keymap-set map "." #'shapeless-c-arrow-insert-dot) map)) (add-hook 'c-mode-hook #'shapeless-c-arrow-mode) (add-hook 'c++-mode-hook #'shapeless-c-arrow-mode) ``` Maybe it is a bit overkill.

Some people don't like shifted keys, because it slows down typing. I too avoid unnecessary shifting if possible. It's more convenient, especially in case of such operators which are used a lot.

Understandable. You could put -> on - instead. I think - alone isn’t used very often anyway in C.

Have no use for this currently but have added to my config.. Thanks

These lines has been in my configuration for a long time, there might be smarter ways to do the same: (global-set-key (kbd "H-C-.") '(lambda () (interactive) (if (char-equal (char-before) ?\s) (insert "->") (insert " ->")) (if (not (equal (char-after) ?\s )) (insert " ") (forward-char)))) (global-set-key (kbd "H-C-,") '(lambda () (interactive) (if (char-equal (char-before) ?\s) (insert "<-") (insert " <-")) (if (not (equal (char-after) ?\s )) (insert " ") (forward-char)))) (global-set-key (kbd "H-C->") '(lambda () (interactive) (if (char-equal (char-before) ?\s) (insert "=>") (insert " =>")) (if (not (equal (char-after) ?\s )) (insert " ") (forward-char)))) (global-set-key (kbd "H-C-<") '(lambda () (interactive) (if (char-equal (char-before) ?\s) (insert "<=") (insert " <=")) (if (not (equal (char-after) ?\s )) (insert " ") (forward-char))))

You might want to exclude this when in strings/comments, (see `(syntax-ppss)`), also, use \`save-match-data\` to avoid modifying that, or better, use \`char-before\` since \`looking-back\` is slow.

Thank you so much. But I don't understand the `save-match-data` part, how to use that? ``` (defun shapeless-c-arrow-insert-dot () (interactive) (let ((sp (syntax-ppss))) (if (and (not (nth 4 sp)) (not (nth 3 sp)) (eq (char-before) ?\.)) (progn (backward-delete-char 1) (insert "->")) (insert ".")))) ```

What? Isn't a single '-' the minus sign in C?

Don't forget that `define-key` etc allow you to specify text to insert. You don't have to call a command. (define-key c-mode "`" "->") I chose `\`` because it's almost the only unshifted character (on a US or UK keyboard) that isn't a C/C++ operator. BTW, obviously `--` is not available in C/C++! It's one of the most commonly used operators.

Yes, but it’s not like this is used everywhere. Like _ is in every other variable name. Or {. If you need a - and it would give you ->, you can just type backspace

If you remove the `looking-at` / `looking-back` you don't need `save-match-data`, otherwise you could do: `(save-match-data (looking-back "."))`