Re: Assignment of misc packages for emacs

[Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org>]

    Where M-x grep prompts for a command line, M-x match prompts for a
    search pattern (offering the current word from the selected buffer as
    default), a file pattern (with predefined abbreviations, e.g. `ch'
    searches all .c and .h files), and a base directory where to start the
    recursive search.

Others have suggested such an interface, but I am not sure it is
really more convenient than the current interface.  Why do you find it
better?

I am not sure it is worth reading the directory rather than just using
the current directory.

    As a result, it presents a buffer with all the matching lines [like
    M-x grep does], but it has a command set which is specifically
    tailored to navigating through the matches, e.g.

    SPC, n - shows the next match in the other window (but keeps the match
    buffer active).  It temporarily highlights the matching text in the
    other window.

This feature seems to be orthogonal to the command argument interface.
Perhaps you can add such features to Compilation mode.  It would be
better not to use printing characters as commands, though.

    Enhanced C-a:

    The first C-a always jumps to the beginning of the line (even if the cursor is
    already there -- this is so keyboard macros can consistenly depend on
    where C-a moves).

I don't like this.

    >     - - minimenu.el [small]
    >     which provides simple menu prompting in the minibuffer
    > 
    > Could you tell me more?

    It makes it easy for other packages to prompt with something like

    EMACS file: c)ommon u)ser i)nit p)re .)emacs cus(t)om l)isp e(x)ec s)rc

    in the minibuffer and then take different actions depending on whether
    the user enters c, u, i, p, ., t, l, x, or s.

This sounds like the existing feature for handling menus on character
ttys.  Could you see how they compare?