Re: Stop frames stealing eachothers' minibuffers!

[Gregory Heytings via "Emacs development discussions." <emacs-devel@gnu.org>]

Hi Alan,

>> This is normal again, C-x 8 RET starts an operation which uses the 
>> minibuffer, and the cursor leaves the buffer in which you are and moves 
>> to the miniwindow.  As explained above, when an operation which 
>> activates a minibuffer is used on a frame while other minibuffers are 
>> active on another frame, they are moved to that frame.  I honestly 
>> can't see what's wrong with this.
>
> I can see a lot wrong with it, from a UI point of view.  Whether the MB 
> gets moved depends on _how_ a user enters characters into C-r.  This is 
> bad.  The MB should either move when you type C-r or it shouldn't.
>

I disagree with that explanation.  You do not "enter characters into C-r". 
When you type characters after typing C-r, they are displayed in the echo 
area, but that doesn't mean you enter them there: the cursor does not move 
there.  When you type C-x 8 RET, the cursor moves into the miniwindow, and 
at that point you type characters in a minibuffer.

>
> Emacs 28 fixes this.
>

At the cost of breaking a longstanding behavior...

>
> Also we shouldn't force users to have to understand the difference 
> between the echo area and the minibuffer.  Some of them will understand, 
> many will not.
>

That's a basic thing to learn when you use Emacs.  And it's easy to 
understand: the echo area is for "status messages" with which you do not 
interact (and this is visible because the point does not leave the buffer 
in which you are), minibuffers are for "commands" with which you interact 
(and this is visible because the point moves from the buffer in which you 
are to the miniwindow).

>
> That most of isearch uses the echo area, but some of it uses the 
> minibuffer, is an arcane implementation issue which users shouldn't have 
> to worry about.  We should leave them in peace.
>

I doubt a user who does not understand the difference between the echo 
area and the minibuffer would use C-x 8 RET during an isearch.  And even 
then, with the above explanation that difference is easy to understand.