C-<chr> means hold the CONTROL key while typing the character <chr> Thus, C-f would be: hold the CONTROL key and type f.
M-<chr> means hold the META or EDIT or ALT key down while typing <chr>. If there is no META, EDIT or ALT key, instead press and release the ESC key and then type <chr>. We write <ESC> for the ESC key.
Here is a summary of simple cursor-moving operations:
C-fMove forward a character
C-bMove backward a character
M-fMove forward a word
M-bMove backward a word
C-nMove to next line
C-pMove to previous line
C-aMove to beginning of line
C-eMove to end of line
M-aMove back to beginning of sentence
M-eMove forward to end of sentence
M-< (META Less-than), which moves to the beginning of the whole text
M-> (META Greater-than), which moves to the end of the whole text
On most terminals, the "<" is above the comma, so you must use the shift key to type it.
On these terminals you must use the shift key to type M-< also; without the shift key, you would be typing M-comma.
C-u 8 C-f moves forward eight characters.
C-u 8 * to insert *******
C-g to discard
C-x 1One window (i.e., kill all other windows).
<DEL> Delete the character just before the cursor
C-d Delete the next character after the cursor
M-<DEL> Kill the word immediately before the cursor
M-d Kill the next word after the cursor
C-k Kill from the cursor position to end of line
M-k Kill to the end of the current sentence