Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org> writes:

>     > The standard convention when reading a value in the minibuffer is to put
>     > the default value in the prompt and make it available for editing by
>     > M-n.
>
>     First, if we have three different notations, why this one should be
>     preferred as the default one?
>
> Because I made the decision that way.  This is a general policy
> I have adopted for Emacs.
>
> What format the input should have is a separate question.

My question was about the three different notations for file modes, and
why this one (-rwxrwx-wx) should be preferred as the one to express the
default value.  I wasn't questioning the way values are entered in the
minibuffer at all.  I was referring to what you call the format.

-- 
 |   Michaël `Micha' Cadilhac       |  La culture c'est comme la confiture,  |
 |   http://michael.cadilhac.name   |      c'est meilleur avec du pain.      |
 |   JID/MSN:                       |           -- MOI59                     |
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