From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: main.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: "Robert J. Chassell" Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel Subject: Re: The minibuffer vs. Dialog Boxes (Re: Making XEmacs be more up-to-date) Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2002 17:08:16 +0000 (UTC) Sender: emacs-devel-admin@gnu.org Message-ID: References: <7263-Sat20Apr2002145929+0300-eliz@is.elta.co.il> <3CC1BEB9.9020104@cs.berkeley.edu> <87elhap2r4.fsf@lgh163a.kemisten.nu> <3CC231D2.6020709@cs.berkeley.edu> <873cxpz436.fsf@lgh163a.kemisten.nu> Reply-To: bob@rattlesnake.com NNTP-Posting-Host: localhost.gmane.org X-Trace: main.gmane.org 1019408975 3621 127.0.0.1 (21 Apr 2002 17:09:35 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@main.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2002 17:09:35 +0000 (UTC) Cc: toomim@cs.berkeley.edu, eliz@is.elta.co.il, link@pobox.com, bradym@balestra.org, xemacs-design@xemacs.org, emacs-devel@gnu.org Return-path: Original-Received: from quimby.gnus.org ([80.91.224.244]) by main.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 3.33 #1 (Debian)) id 16zKqF-0000wI-00 for ; Sun, 21 Apr 2002 19:09:35 +0200 Original-Received: from fencepost.gnu.org ([199.232.76.164]) by quimby.gnus.org with esmtp (Exim 3.12 #1 (Debian)) id 16zKqY-0003DC-00 for ; Sun, 21 Apr 2002 19:09:54 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=fencepost.gnu.org) by fencepost.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 3.34 #1 (Debian)) id 16zKpq-0002vB-00; Sun, 21 Apr 2002 13:09:10 -0400 Original-Received: from megalith.rattlesnake.com ([140.186.114.245] helo=localhost) by fencepost.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 3.34 #1 (Debian)) id 16zKpG-0002ur-00 for ; Sun, 21 Apr 2002 13:08:35 -0400 Original-Received: by rattlesnake.com via sendmail from stdin id (Debian Smail3.2.0.114) Sun, 21 Apr 2002 17:08:16 +0000 (UTC) Original-To: ams@kemisten.nu In-Reply-To: <873cxpz436.fsf@lgh163a.kemisten.nu> (ams@kemisten.nu) Errors-To: emacs-devel-admin@gnu.org X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.0.9 Precedence: bulk List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Id: Emacs development discussions. List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: Xref: main.gmane.org gmane.emacs.devel:2947 X-Report-Spam: http://spam.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.devel:2947 ... "buffer" to "document" or "file" ... Please be careful about language. Sometimes a buffer is an unsaved document; sometimes it is a saved document. There is a big difference. And sometimes a document is not online at all, but is printed. And ..., right now, in another buffer, I am looking at a picture, I would not call a picture a document, although a picture may be within a document, but not always. In this case, the picture is not within a document. How about extracting idea from this in your definition of `buffer'? Thexe excerpts come from Info, File: eintr, Node: Buffer Names A file and a buffer are two different entities. A file is information recorded permanently in the computer (unless you delete it). A buffer, on the other hand, is information inside of Emacs that will vanish at the end of the editing session (or when you kill the buffer). Usually, a buffer contains information that you have copied from a file; we say the buffer is "visiting" that file. This copy is what you work on and modify. Changes to the buffer do not change the file, until you save the buffer. When you save the buffer, the buffer is copied to the file and is thus saved permanently. ... In spite of the distinction between files and buffers, you will often find that people refer to a file when they mean a buffer and vice-versa. Indeed, most people say, "I am editing a file," rather than saying, "I am editing a buffer which I will soon save to a file." It is almost always clear from context what people mean. When dealing with computer programs, however, it is important to keep the distinction in mind, since the computer is not as smart as a person. The word `buffer', by the way, comes from the meaning of the word as a cushion that deadens the force of a collision. In early computers, a buffer cushioned the interaction between files and the computer's central processing unit. The drums or tapes that held a file and the central processing unit were pieces of equipment that were very different from each other, working at their own speeds, in spurts. The buffer made it possible for them to work together effectively. Eventually, the buffer grew from being an intermediary, a temporary holding place, to being the place where work is done. This transformation is rather like that of a small seaport that grew into a great city: once it was merely the place where cargo was warehoused temporarily before being loaded onto ships; then it became a business and cultural center in its own right. Not all buffers are associated with files. For example, when you start an Emacs session by typing the command `emacs' alone, without naming any files, Emacs will start with the `*scratch*' buffer on the screen. This buffer is not visiting any file. Similarly, a `*Help*' buffer is not associated with any file. -- Robert J. Chassell bob@rattlesnake.com Rattlesnake Enterprises http://www.rattlesnake.com