Proposal: alias `clear-buffer` to `erase-buffer`

Proposal: alias `clear-buffer` to `erase-buffer`

[Tianxiang Xiong]

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The `erase-buffer` function is the only function that "clears" data, but
begins with the word "erase". This makes it difficult to discover for new
users.

The most widely used term seems to be "clear" instead of "erase". See:

- `clear-string`
- `clear-rectangle`
- `clear-abbrev-table`

and more.

`erase-buffer` should be called `clear-buffer`. We can create an alias in
`subr.el` and mark `erase-buffer` as deprecated, though it'll never be safe
to remove due to the amount of code that uses it.

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Re: Proposal: alias `clear-buffer` to `erase-buffer`

[Richard Stallman]

[[[ To any NSA and FBI agents reading my email: please consider    ]]]
[[[ whether defending the US Constitution against all enemies,     ]]]
[[[ foreign or domestic, requires you to follow Snowden's example. ]]]

I find it useful that 'erase' completes to this command.

-- 
Dr Richard Stallman
President, Free Software Foundation (gnu.org, fsf.org)
Internet Hall-of-Famer (internethalloffame.org)
Skype: No way! See stallman.org/skype.html.

Re: Proposal: alias `clear-buffer` to `erase-buffer`

[Davis Herring]

> - `clear-string`
> - `clear-rectangle`

I'm not sure the analogy follows: these two replace a container's 
contents with some sort of blank, but don't change their size to be 0.

Davis

-- 
This product is sold by volume, not by mass.  If it appears too dense or 
too sparse, it is because mass-energy conversion has occurred during 
shipping.

Re: Proposal: alias `clear-buffer` to `erase-buffer`

[Kaushal Modi]

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On Jan 25, 2017 7:45 PM, "Davis Herring" <herring@lanl.gov> wrote:

- `clear-string`
> - `clear-rectangle`
>

I'm not sure the analogy follows: these two replace a container's contents
with some sort of blank, but don't change their size to be 0.


+1 erase-buffer makes more sense.

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