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(elisp)Keymaps and Minor Modes

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Keymaps and Minor Modes
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   Each minor mode can have its own keymap, which is active when the
mode is enabled.  To set up a keymap for a minor mode, add an element
to the alist `minor-mode-map-alist'.  Note: Active Keymaps.

   One use of minor mode keymaps is to modify the behavior of certain
self-inserting characters so that they do something else as well as
self-insert.  In general, this is the only way to do that, since the
facilities for customizing `self-insert-command' are limited to special
cases (designed for abbrevs and Auto Fill mode).  (Do not try
substituting your own definition of `self-insert-command' for the
standard one.  The editor command loop handles this function specially.)

   The key sequences bound in a minor mode should consist of `C-c'
followed by a punctuation character _other than_ `{', `}', `<', `>',
`:', and `;'.  (Those few punctuation characters are reserved for major
modes.)