z (03/08/83)
CCA EMACS now allows the specification of the null character (^@) in search strings (both incremental and nonincremental) and in query replace strings (both the From: and To: fields). This new feature is in addition to the already existing capability of including null characters both in the buffer and in killed regions. To my knowledge, this makes CCA EMACS the only editor on Unix which is fully capable of handling null characters just like any other character. In conjunction with this feature, the C-Q command for quoting characters has been made more versatile. From now on, if the C-Q command is followed by a digit, it will expect two more digits, and it will enter into the buffer the character represented by the octal number formed by the three digits. An argument to the C-Q command is now taken as a repeat count. The convention of typing octal digits after the C-Q can be used wherever C-Q is allowed, such as when you are entering search or replace strings at the bottom of the screen.