Define and load a local keymap without defining a minor mode

Question

Can I define and load a local keymap without defining a minor mode?

I need to define some keybinding in latex-mode and access/list them with

(describe-variable 'mycustom-map)

but I don't want to define a minor mode.

Answer 1

I'm not sure I understand the question, but the obvious cases are:

1. You always want your key bindings active in latex-mode
2. You sometimes want your key bindings active in latex-mode

If it's option 1, you can bind your keys in the major mode's map instead of using a minor mode.

If it's option 2, then just use a minor mode -- that is the canonical solution; but if for some reason it's very important to you not to define a minor mode, then you can still use the same underlying keymap mechanism without the actual minor mode:

(defun foo ()
  "foo"
  (interactive)
  (message "foo"))

(defvar foo-map (let ((map (make-sparse-keymap)))
                  (define-key map (kbd "<f6>") #'foo)
                  map)
  "foo map")

(add-to-list 'minor-mode-map-alist (cons 'foo foo-map))

(defvar-local foo nil
  "Enable or disable `foo-map'.")

(defun foo-enable ()
  "Enable `foo-map' for the current buffer."
  (setq foo t))

(add-hook 'latex-mode-hook #'foo-enable)