Re: The minibuffer vs. Dialog Boxes (Re: Making XEmacs be more up-to-date)

[Alex Schroeder <alex@emacswiki.org>]

"Andy Piper" <andy@xemacs.org> writes:

> I think the issue is not so much that Emacs uses weird terminology but that
> Emacs uses different terminology to a hundred other editors. Seems like
> we're arguing for Esperanto rather than words that are actually in the
> dictionary.

True enough.  But will we change the terminology again when the next
paradigm change of software development happens?  I think it would be
foolish to assume that Windows and Documents will be around for the
next decades.  Thus we might as well stick to our own pre-Windows,
pre-X terminology.  My favorite quote in this context from a posting
by Per:

    What you call "Windows" is just one of many window systems that
    has come in and out of fashion during the lifetime of Emacs. Emacs
    (in one version or another) has supported most of them, SunView?,
    X10, X11 (Open Look, Athena, Motif), PM, Win32, Mac. Emacs has
    provided a sound foundation that has allowed programmers to be
    productive with all these, and will also provide a foundation for
    whatever window system will be hot tomorrow.

    What Emacs doesn't do is to give up that foundation in order to
    follow the latest trend. Instead, it incorporates what is good and
    compensates for the rest. This -- off course -- will make Emacs
    feel "old" for the followers of hype, but the wise will see its
    intrinsic power and lasting value.

    -- Per Abrahamsen, http://www.emacswiki.org/cgi-bin/wiki.pl?EmacsDefense

Alex.
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