Re: Suggestion: two new commands: beginning-of-list and end-of-list

[Emanuel Berg <incal@dataswamp.org>]

arthur miller wrote:

> Small conventience might matter to people.
> With backward-up-list you have to press at least one more
> time, or if you are in a doc string you have to invoke
> it again.

`1+'

Small or big, that's up to anyone to decide. We take it.

Emacs including Emacs Lisp has had a huge problem and has it
still, and that is to neglect simple, small things.

If one is falling behind the most advanced because of reasons
that are legit - we have no resources, no developers,
incompatible license etc etc - then that's okay, if it can't
happen it can't happen.

What one does in a such a situation tho is, because one cannot
focus on what one cannot do, instead focus is what can be
done, cover all the basics, polish, let it shine, enjoy.
But that also don't happen :( We have had far to little
respect for that, I don't know why.

For example, I have 193 lines of config for Dired. Cool, you
think, what fancy extensions are those, you think? Answer:
stuff that dired should have had ages ago. E.g.

(defun dired-first-file ()
  (interactive)
  (goto-char (point-min))
  (dired-next-line 1)
  (recenter))

(defun dired-last-file ()
  (interactive)
  (goto-char (point-max))
  (dired-next-line -1)
  (recenter -2))

or

(defun dired-kill-path-dwim ()
  (interactive)
  (kill-new
    (or (dired-get-filename nil t)  ; kill file path
        (dired-current-directory))) ; or dir path
  (echo-kill))

or

(defun dired-toggle-mark ()
  (interactive)
  (if (= dired-marker-char (char-after (pos-bol)))
      (dired-unmark 1)
    (dired-mark 1)))

[ Maybe nowadays dired has support for some of that,
  I don't know. Full source with 16 `defun': 

  https://dataswamp.org/~incal/emacs-init/dired-incal.el ]

(Note: I like dired but am absolutely no fan of it, not
a single line of Elisp has been added because of love for
dired or the desire to spend time with it any more
than necessary.)

So while it is okay to fall behind, like it is okay to loose
a game of hockey, it isn't okay to just put the skates on the
ice and play without heart.

The developers should maybe rethink their attitude. To have
10 000+ commits, yet basic functions are not included? I don't
understand how that is even possible?

Speed, ergonomics and convenience in _everything_.
Youngers don't read manual (most of them), they expect
everything to be great day 1. And why not? In a way I agree.
and 2) senior citizens cannot or have no time, mental
discipline to acquire vast new skills. And as for professional
IT people - what they need is actually the same, speed,
ergonomics, convenience, because they need to be productive
(and also enjoy/being able to work with the software all day
every day).

For GNU Emacs to stay relevant, we must be (almost) as
intuitive, well-integrated and problem-free as smartphone apps
_but also_ (almost) as productive as other software, including
solutions that are expensive/specialized in nature, so
therefor has a head start with backing from the
corporate world.

1) Cut all the corners wherever possible, one-keystroke
interface when typing doesn't happen, as short-and-clos as
possible all other keystrokes. Has a new window (pane) opened?
Not only go their with point, go there with point _and_ move
it to the first button, so they user immediately can do RET.

Streamline everything, cut corners for real with technology -
don't rely on mere humans to implement human-invented
conventions,

;; this is a mail

-- 
underground experts united
https://dataswamp.org/~incal