From mboxrd@z Thu Jan  1 00:00:00 1970
Path: main.gmane.org!not-for-mail
From: Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org>
Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel
Subject: Re: Improved help from minibuffer prompts
Date: Sat, 17 Apr 2004 15:47:04 -0400
Sender: emacs-devel-bounces+emacs-devel=quimby.gnus.org@gnu.org
Message-ID: <E1BEvmK-0005YV-Db@fencepost.gnu.org>
References: <w4dptacgzr0.fsf@nanni.riic.uni-linz.ac.at>
	<E1BDoiS-0007vL-9d@fencepost.gnu.org>
	<w4du0zlaiy1.fsf@nanni.riic.uni-linz.ac.at>
	<E1BEXkP-00087A-Kd@fencepost.gnu.org>
	<m3hdvjh9kw.fsf@kfs-l.imdomain.dk>
Reply-To: rms@gnu.org
NNTP-Posting-Host: deer.gmane.org
X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1082231572 25415 80.91.224.253 (17 Apr 2004 19:52:52 GMT)
X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org
NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 17 Apr 2004 19:52:52 +0000 (UTC)
Cc: emacs-devel@gnu.org, xsteve@riic.at
Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+emacs-devel=quimby.gnus.org@gnu.org Sat Apr 17 21:52:45 2004
Return-path: <emacs-devel-bounces+emacs-devel=quimby.gnus.org@gnu.org>
Original-Received: from quimby.gnus.org ([80.91.224.244])
	by deer.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian))
	id 1BEvrp-000395-00
	for <emacs-devel@deer.gmane.org>; Sat, 17 Apr 2004 21:52:45 +0200
Original-Received: from monty-python.gnu.org ([199.232.76.173])
	by quimby.gnus.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian))
	id 1BEvrp-000584-00
	for <emacs-devel@quimby.gnus.org>; Sat, 17 Apr 2004 21:52:45 +0200
Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=monty-python.gnu.org)
	by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.30)
	id 1BEvqy-0004Xd-Us
	for emacs-devel@quimby.gnus.org; Sat, 17 Apr 2004 15:51:52 -0400
Original-Received: from list by monty-python.gnu.org with tmda-scanned (Exim 4.30)
	id 1BEvnd-0002m5-KN
	for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sat, 17 Apr 2004 15:48:25 -0400
Original-Received: from mail by monty-python.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.30)
	id 1BEvn5-0002Ss-CO
	for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sat, 17 Apr 2004 15:48:23 -0400
Original-Received: from [199.232.76.164] (helo=fencepost.gnu.org)
	by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.30) id 1BEvn5-0002Sn-6E
	for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sat, 17 Apr 2004 15:47:51 -0400
Original-Received: from rms by fencepost.gnu.org with local (Exim 4.24)
	id 1BEvmK-0005YV-Db; Sat, 17 Apr 2004 15:47:04 -0400
Original-To: storm@cua.dk (Kim F. Storm)
In-reply-to: <m3hdvjh9kw.fsf@kfs-l.imdomain.dk> (storm@cua.dk)
X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org
X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.4
Precedence: list
List-Id: "Emacs development discussions." <emacs-devel.gnu.org>
List-Unsubscribe: <http://mail.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/emacs-devel>,
	<mailto:emacs-devel-request@gnu.org?subject=unsubscribe>
List-Archive: <http://mail.gnu.org/pipermail/emacs-devel>
List-Post: <mailto:emacs-devel@gnu.org>
List-Help: <mailto:emacs-devel-request@gnu.org?subject=help>
List-Subscribe: <http://mail.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/emacs-devel>,
	<mailto:emacs-devel-request@gnu.org?subject=subscribe>
Errors-To: emacs-devel-bounces+emacs-devel=quimby.gnus.org@gnu.org
Xref: main.gmane.org gmane.emacs.devel:21832
X-Report-Spam: http://spam.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.devel:21832

    The doc string is supposed to describe the arguments, so it is more
    useful than no help.

That is true--but its description of the arguments is often not
very helpful for a situation like this.

Here is a new idea.  We can develop a convention for delimiting, in
the doc string, the help about each argument.  Then the help facility
for entering an argument could look thru the doc string for the part
that refers to the current argument.