bug#53305: 29.0.50; Echo keystrokes without delay

bug#53305: 29.0.50; Echo keystrokes without delay

[Rudolf Adamkovič via Bug reports for GNU Emacs, the Swiss army knife of text editors]

Today, I set my Emacs to echo unfinished commands without a delay:

(setq-default echo-keystrokes 1e-6)

I experienced some problems along the way: (1) The variable name does
not include the word "delay", making it hard to find; (2) I could not
figure out how to disable the delay without providing a number of
seconds; (3) When I press C-x C-g repeatedly, the C-x part flashes a
bit.

Does (3) have anything to do with the "1e-6" hack?  Ideally, I would
want Emacs to have no delay and also no "redraw glitches".

I also wonder, does Emacs have the default 1-second delay to save
bandwidth or something like that?  I ask because the default makes it
harder to learn Emacs for inexperienced computer users.  I base my claim
on causal observations of my children; they often wait for the echo
area, unsure about their "unfinished commands".

Note: If the Emacs core team considers all of the above "features" and
not "bugs", feel free to close this bug report.

Rudy


In GNU Emacs 29.0.50 (build 10, x86_64-apple-darwin21.2.0, NS appkit-2113.20 Version 12.1 (Build 21C52))
 of 2022-01-11 built on Workstation.local
Repository revision: 18dac472553e6cd1102b644c2175012e12215c18
Repository branch: master
Windowing system distributor 'Apple', version 10.3.2113
System Description:  macOS 12.1

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-- 
"Programming reliably --- must be an activity of an undeniably mathematical nature […] You see, mathematics is about thinking, and doing mathematics is always trying to think as well as possible." -- Edsger W. Dijkstra (1981)

Rudolf Adamkovič <salutis@me.com> [he/him]
Studenohorská 25
84103 Bratislava
Slovakia

bug#53305: 29.0.50; Echo keystrokes without delay

[Lars Ingebrigtsen]

Rudolf Adamkovič <salutis@me.com> writes:

> Today, I set my Emacs to echo unfinished commands without a delay:
>
> (setq-default echo-keystrokes 1e-6)
>
> I experienced some problems along the way: (1) The variable name does
> not include the word "delay", making it hard to find;

Well, it does more than control the delay -- it also allows switching
the echoing off, so I think the name's OK.

> (2) I could not
> figure out how to disable the delay without providing a number of
> seconds; (3) When I press C-x C-g repeatedly, the C-x part flashes a
> bit.
>
> Does (3) have anything to do with the "1e-6" hack?  Ideally, I would
> want Emacs to have no delay and also no "redraw glitches".

Yes, it sets up a delay, and if your redisplay is too fast, the clearing
and re-drawing will be noticeable.  (I can't reproduce it on Debian.)

> I also wonder, does Emacs have the default 1-second delay to save
> bandwidth or something like that?  I ask because the default makes it
> harder to learn Emacs for inexperienced computer users.  I base my claim
> on causal observations of my children; they often wait for the echo
> area, unsure about their "unfinished commands".

No, the delay is because many people find echoing the unfinished
keystroke to be disturbing.

So I think everything here basically works as designed, and I'm closing
this bug report.

-- 
(domestic pets only, the antidote for overdose, milk.)
   bloggy blog: http://lars.ingebrigtsen.no