From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Dani Moncayo Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.bugs Subject: bug#9908: 24.0.90; Improve mode-line's "flags" section Date: Sun, 30 Oct 2011 12:26:20 +0100 Message-ID: References: NNTP-Posting-Host: lo.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable X-Trace: dough.gmane.org 1319974035 30867 80.91.229.12 (30 Oct 2011 11:27:15 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@dough.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 30 Oct 2011 11:27:15 +0000 (UTC) Cc: 9908@debbugs.gnu.org To: Eli Zaretskii Original-X-From: bug-gnu-emacs-bounces+geb-bug-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Sun Oct 30 12:27:05 2011 Return-path: Envelope-to: geb-bug-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([140.186.70.17]) by lo.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from ) id 1RKTXb-0005NE-FB for geb-bug-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Sun, 30 Oct 2011 12:27:03 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([::1]:40869 helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1RKTXa-000592-JX for geb-bug-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Sun, 30 Oct 2011 07:27:02 -0400 Original-Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([140.186.70.92]:50152) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1RKTXW-00058x-9Z for bug-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Sun, 30 Oct 2011 07:26:59 -0400 Original-Received: from Debian-exim by eggs.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1RKTXV-0001wO-0g for bug-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Sun, 30 Oct 2011 07:26:58 -0400 Original-Received: from debbugs.gnu.org ([140.186.70.43]:54983) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1RKTXU-0001wJ-SO for bug-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Sun, 30 Oct 2011 07:26:56 -0400 Original-Received: from Debian-debbugs by debbugs.gnu.org with local (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from ) id 1RKTZV-0006Vh-Kx for bug-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Sun, 30 Oct 2011 07:29:01 -0400 X-Loop: help-debbugs@gnu.org Resent-From: Dani Moncayo Original-Sender: debbugs-submit-bounces@debbugs.gnu.org Resent-CC: bug-gnu-emacs@gnu.org Resent-Date: Sun, 30 Oct 2011 11:29:01 +0000 Resent-Message-ID: Resent-Sender: help-debbugs@gnu.org X-GNU-PR-Message: followup 9908 X-GNU-PR-Package: emacs X-GNU-PR-Keywords: Original-Received: via spool by 9908-submit@debbugs.gnu.org id=B9908.131997411124988 (code B ref 9908); Sun, 30 Oct 2011 11:29:01 +0000 Original-Received: (at 9908) by debbugs.gnu.org; 30 Oct 2011 11:28:31 +0000 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=debbugs.gnu.org) by debbugs.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from ) id 1RKTZ1-0006Uz-Bb for submit@debbugs.gnu.org; Sun, 30 Oct 2011 07:28:31 -0400 Original-Received: from mail-gx0-f172.google.com ([209.85.161.172]) by debbugs.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from ) id 1RKTYx-0006Uq-Gb for 9908@debbugs.gnu.org; Sun, 30 Oct 2011 07:28:30 -0400 Original-Received: by ggnv1 with SMTP id v1so4840970ggn.3 for <9908@debbugs.gnu.org>; Sun, 30 Oct 2011 04:26:21 -0700 (PDT) DKIM-Signature: v=1; a=rsa-sha256; c=relaxed/relaxed; d=gmail.com; s=gamma; h=mime-version:in-reply-to:references:date:message-id:subject:from:to :cc:content-type:content-transfer-encoding; bh=3xzkqUxzkdYFQDuP4twlhNPl+o+DgimqYxf+Moa+hQE=; b=VOIsckutABNh9O2TZpLw80Mdz0tRv35d5cpNVVjMvArAVRA09x3zQPuqn+a543+nV1 fLKmRitxi5bJSCFaUhQWYIqEuJr5kTWr3z8bKfWd9d5nn5p7WiBDQ5pJqcVIlhyipRkQ hGJLCObg8YBbyTpWJC+Sjh9VEpPQde5Li+SPo= Original-Received: by 10.236.145.72 with SMTP id o48mr11646132yhj.86.1319973981673; Sun, 30 Oct 2011 04:26:21 -0700 (PDT) Original-Received: by 10.236.36.40 with HTTP; Sun, 30 Oct 2011 04:26:20 -0700 (PDT) In-Reply-To: X-BeenThere: debbugs-submit@debbugs.gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.11 Precedence: list Resent-Date: Sun, 30 Oct 2011 07:29:01 -0400 X-detected-operating-system: by eggs.gnu.org: GNU/Linux 2.6 (newer, 2) X-Received-From: 140.186.70.43 X-BeenThere: bug-gnu-emacs@gnu.org List-Id: "Bug reports for GNU Emacs, the Swiss army knife of text editors" List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: bug-gnu-emacs-bounces+geb-bug-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Original-Sender: bug-gnu-emacs-bounces+geb-bug-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.bugs:53321 Archived-At: >> I'd like to propose some changes to the mode-line's "flags" section, >> to make it more clear and readable: > > I'd like to express an objection. =A0We already made the mode line look > very differently in the GUI sessions. =A0It is only prudent to wait for > a while before proposing further changes. =A0Personally, I hate programs > that change their look and feel every release. =A0I would not like to > see Emacs catch that particular disease. IMHO, the changes I propose are pretty small from a look-and-feel POV, and they still improve the readability of the flags. See below. >> 1. In text-mode, the very first character in the mode-line is always a >> dash. =A0Since it is adjacent to the "flags" section, users could think >> that it is part of such section, i.e., that conveys some information. >> To avoid such confusion, I propose to write a space in that spot. > > See > > =A0http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2010-10/msg00709.html > > where the rationale for leaving the dashes in the TTY sessions was > explained. =A0FWIW, I don't remember any complaints about this, so the > alleged user confusion does not seem to be present in practice. I don't propose to remove the dashes that fill the unused space: In this point, I'm just proposing to change the fist one because, as I said, it is adjacent to the flags section (and the CS flags can be dashes too), thus camouflaging the left boundary such section. >> 2. The EOL flag is not consistent across platforms[a], and I don't see >> the point of such inconsistency. > > The point is to alert the user to the fact that the EOL format of the > buffer or file is not "native" for his or her platform. =A0At the time, > this was important enough for Richard to explicitly ask for a change > to that effect. =A0I don't know if the reasons are still valid. =A0In any > case, these strings are customizable. I see. Personally, I'd prefer a consistent and concise convention. >> So I propose to use always the same >> convention: ":", "\" and "/" for Unix, DOS, and MAC-type EOL formats. > > Actually, a more logical choice would be '/' for Posix platforms, '\' > for DOS and Windows, and ':' for the Mac. =A0But I guess it's too late > for such changes. I don't care, as long as the convention is concise and consistent across platforms. >> 3. When the buffer's default directory is local, the corresponding >> flag is a dash, which is very unfortunate, because there can be other >> dashes at both sides of that flag. =A0So, I propose to substitute the >> dash for a space (the "@" would remain the same, of course). > > I don't see why this is unfortunate. =A0A space doesn't carry more or > less information than a dash: both mean there's nothing to show. =A0What > is important is not to have the dash signify anything in particular. This dash is unfortunate for a similar reason that explained in point #1: there can be other dashes at every side, so that it is harder to identify each flag's boundaries. >> 4. In text-mode, The frame name is always preceded by a dash, which is >> also confusing, because one could think that it means something. =A0I >> propose either remove it (shifting the frame name 1 position to left) >> or write a space in that spot. > > Again, on a TTY we use dashes as a filler. =A0Please do not lobby for > removing the dashes from a TTY mode line, as the rationale was > explained in the above-mentioned URL. This question is already answered above (in point #1). --=20 Dani Moncayo