blink-cursor frame parameter

blink-cursor frame parameter

[Drew Adams]

There doesn't seem to be a frame parameter that corresponds to whether and how
the cursor blinks.

Other modes, such as menu-bar-mode, tool-bar-mode, scroll-bar-mode, and
fringe-mode all act via a frame parameter. Why not blink-cursor-mode also?

Re: blink-cursor frame parameter

[Juri Linkov]

> There doesn't seem to be a frame parameter that corresponds to whether and how
> the cursor blinks.
>
> Other modes, such as menu-bar-mode, tool-bar-mode, scroll-bar-mode, and
> fringe-mode all act via a frame parameter. Why not blink-cursor-mode also?

Do we really need this for the sake of completeness?  IMO, you either like
the blinking cursor or not.  Not that the user can like it in one frame and
hate in another frame (provided that the user has no multiple personality :)

-- 
Juri Linkov
http://www.jurta.org/emacs/

RE: blink-cursor frame parameter

[Drew Adams]

> > There doesn't seem to be a frame parameter that corresponds 
> > to whether and how the cursor blinks.
> >
> > Other modes, such as menu-bar-mode, tool-bar-mode, 
> > scroll-bar-mode, and fringe-mode all act via a frame
> > parameter. Why not blink-cursor-mode also?
> 
> Do we really need this for the sake of completeness?

Dunno. I was thinking that someone might define a particular class (type) or set
of frames, and associate a given set of frame parameter values with the set. I
do this with thumbnail frames, for instance. You can set the frame parameter
values to use for thumbnail frames. 

I modify (advise) commands such as `menu-bar-mode' so that if you turn on or off
such a mode it won't necessarily affect the thumbnail frames. If you have an
explicit `menu-bar-lines' setting for thumbnail frames, then that is used for
them instead. If you have no such setting, then the command affects thumbnail
frames too.

It's just an example. The point is that users or libraries might create settings
for different sets or types of frames, and then want to control their properties
using frame parameters.

> IMO, you either like the blinking cursor or not.

Maybe you don't like it generally, but you like it for some class of frames
(e.g. thumbnails or frames showing a process buffer or whatever).

> Not that the user can like it in one frame and
> hate in another frame (provided that the user has no multiple 
> personality :)

That's just the case I had in mind. Not a multiple personality, but different
kinds of frames, with different uses and so different properties/settings.

Re: blink-cursor frame parameter

[Stefan Monnier]

> There doesn't seem to be a frame parameter that corresponds to whether
> and how the cursor blinks.

> Other modes, such as menu-bar-mode, tool-bar-mode, scroll-bar-mode,
> and fringe-mode all act via a frame parameter.
> Why not blink-cursor-mode also?

AFAIK, scroll-bar-mode and fringe-mode frame parameters are mostly
historical errors (they should be either window parameters or
buffer-local settings).
menu-bar-mode and tool-bar-mode refer to frame-level entities, so it
makes sense to configure them on a frame-by-frame basis.

Since there can be several cursors per frame, `blink-cursor-mode' should
be per-window or per-buffer.

Not sure if setting it buffer-locally works, but it's not terribly
important since AFAIK either users want it to blink everywhere
or nowhere.


        Stefan

RE: blink-cursor frame parameter

[Drew Adams]

> > There doesn't seem to be a frame parameter that corresponds 
> > to whether and how the cursor blinks.
> 
> > Other modes, such as menu-bar-mode, tool-bar-mode, scroll-bar-mode,
> > and fringe-mode all act via a frame parameter.
> > Why not blink-cursor-mode also?
> 
> AFAIK, scroll-bar-mode and fringe-mode frame parameters are mostly
> historical errors (they should be either window parameters or
> buffer-local settings).
> menu-bar-mode and tool-bar-mode refer to frame-level entities, so it
> makes sense to configure them on a frame-by-frame basis.
> 
> Since there can be several cursors per frame, 
> `blink-cursor-mode' should be per-window or per-buffer.

Oh, right. I forget that using (usually) one buffer per frame is still uncommon.
;-)

> Not sure if setting it buffer-locally works, but it's not terribly
> important since AFAIK either users want it to blink everywhere
> or nowhere.

See my other mail about that, substituting class/set of buffers for class/set of
frames.

(I obviously don't care much about the blink cursor case. The important use
cases I have are for things like menu-bar and tool-bar, which one typically
doesn't want to suddenly appear in each of the tiny thumbnail frames just
because you turned on menu-bar-mode after it was off.)

Re: blink-cursor frame parameter

[Stefan Monnier]

>> Not sure if setting it buffer-locally works, but it's not terribly
>> important since AFAIK either users want it to blink everywhere
>> or nowhere.

> See my other mail about that, substituting class/set of buffers for
> class/set of frames.

We are not in the business of adding features solely on the ground of
hypothetical needs.


        Stefan