Re: Some developement questions

[Yuri Khan <yurivkhan@gmail.com>]

On Mon, Sep 10, 2018 at 2:30 PM Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org> wrote:
>
> > * a U+2022 BULLET • if the buffer is visiting a file and modified, and
> > nothing otherwise;
> > * a U+1F512 LOCK if it is visiting a file and read-only, and
> > nothing otherwise;
> > * a U+1F5AC SOFT SHELL FLOPPY DISK 🖬 if using DOS end-of-lines, or
> > U+2318 PLACE OF INTEREST SIGN ⌘ if using Mac end-of-lines, nothing if
> > using Unix end-of-lines, and a question mark ? otherwise.
>
> An image of a floppy disk is generally used for saving something to
> disk

I thought about it when choosing the character. The save icon uses the
3.5″ floppy disk (when it depicts a floppy disk at all), so I took the
5.25″ one to avoid ambiguity.

> so I think it would be better to use it for the "modified"
> marker, perhaps even with mouse click on it invoking save-buffer.

Well, most other editors use either an asterisk or a bullet. I didn’t
feel like inventing a new symbol usage for its own sake.

What does clicking the * do now? Just drop the “buffer modified” flag?
That feels dangerous.

> As for using these images for EOL format, I guess their mnemonic
> significance is something to your personal experience, because I would
> not have guessed why a floppy means DOS/Windows, what with GNU/Linux
> nowadays being ubiquitous on small devices and PCs.  I don't see any
> emoticons that strike me as appropriate, but perhaps we could design
> small icons of our own instead.

Well, DOS stands for Disk Operating System, so the DOS line end
convention gets a disk icon. Windows does not enter the picture
because it just inherited the DOS convention.

Nowadays, I think, floppy disks are not used, like, at all (except
possibly to file tax reports to the tax office, and even they now
provide a tax form web application), so the image of a floppy evokes
the thought of something ancient.


Point is, U:--- is a cryptic indicator that basically says “everything
is as you expect”, and 1\%*@ is a cryptic indicator that says “there
are so many things wrong, unusual or unsafe about this buffer”. These
are all important status items that could be made more informative
when in their abnormal, unsafe or attention-required state; or,
conversely, quieted down to silence when in the usual, safe and
expected state.