From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: main.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Miles Bader Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel Subject: Re: [jidanni@deadspam.com: modeline doesn't divulge buffer will go bye bye] Date: 25 Jun 2002 11:11:32 +0900 Sender: emacs-devel-admin@gnu.org Message-ID: References: <200206250149.g5P1n7sP003156@adams0-57.reshall.ou.edu> Reply-To: Miles Bader NNTP-Posting-Host: localhost.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Trace: main.gmane.org 1024971125 25248 127.0.0.1 (25 Jun 2002 02:12:05 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@main.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 25 Jun 2002 02:12:05 +0000 (UTC) Cc: Alex Schroeder , 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 17MfoK-0006Z7-00 for ; Tue, 25 Jun 2002 04:12:04 +0200 Original-Received: from fencepost.gnu.org ([199.232.76.164]) by quimby.gnus.org with esmtp (Exim 3.12 #1 (Debian)) id 17Mfpk-0003aO-00 for ; Tue, 25 Jun 2002 04:13:32 +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 17MfoR-0002DE-00; Mon, 24 Jun 2002 22:12:11 -0400 Original-Received: from tyo202.gate.nec.co.jp ([210.143.35.52]) by fencepost.gnu.org with smtp (Exim 3.34 #1 (Debian)) id 17Mfnz-0002CZ-00; Mon, 24 Jun 2002 22:11:43 -0400 Original-Received: from mailgate4.nec.co.jp ([10.7.69.195]) by TYO202.gate.nec.co.jp (8.11.6/3.7W01080315) with ESMTP id g5P2BZe20498; Tue, 25 Jun 2002 11:11:35 +0900 (JST) Original-Received: from mailsv.nec.co.jp (mailgate51.nec.co.jp [10.7.69.196]) by mailgate4.nec.co.jp (8.11.6/3.7W-MAILGATE-NEC) with ESMTP id g5P2BYL26769; Tue, 25 Jun 2002 11:11:34 +0900 (JST) Original-Received: from mcsss2.ucom.lsi.nec.co.jp ([10.30.114.133]) by mailsv.nec.co.jp (8.11.6/3.7W-MAILSV-NEC) with ESMTP id g5P2BXh07699; Tue, 25 Jun 2002 11:11:33 +0900 (JST) Original-Received: from mcspd15.ucom.lsi.nec.co.jp (mcspd15 [10.30.114.174]) by mcsss2.ucom.lsi.nec.co.jp (8.10.2+Sun/3.7Wlsi_mx_6.0) with ESMTP id g5P2BWK06751; Tue, 25 Jun 2002 11:11:32 +0900 (JST) Original-Received: by mcspd15.ucom.lsi.nec.co.jp (Postfix, from userid 31295) id 676D137C8; Tue, 25 Jun 2002 11:11:32 +0900 (JST) Original-To: Jon Cast System-Type: i686-pc-linux-gnu Blat: Foop In-Reply-To: <200206250149.g5P1n7sP003156@adams0-57.reshall.ou.edu> Original-Lines: 38 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:5182 X-Report-Spam: http://spam.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.devel:5182 Jon Cast writes: > I really doubt having to type C-x b name n rather than C-x b name > would be ``mind-bogglingly annoying''. Superfluous prompts are _always_ annoying, especially for widely used commands like C-x b. > However, if it turns out to > really be annoying, we can always add a defcustom to turn it off. Even so, it's a poor interface, for several reasons: (1) It asks for _every_ new scratch buffer, when seems likely that a given user either _usually_ wants to consider them `permanent', or _rarely_ does (the current default). (2) It asks the question too early, when the user might not really know whether he wants to save the buffer. I think that asking this sort of `decide now about the future' question for a command like `C-x b' (which is often used while in the middle of doing some task, to hold some temporary data or whatever) can interrupt your train of thought, and so should be avoided. Alex's suggestion, that by default emacs _assume_ that buffers should be saved and queried about before exiting as normal, delays the decision until the user has actually done his business with the buffer, and probably has a better idea of whether it's important or not. (3) It asks the question even for scratch buffers that are later explicitly killed (with C-x k), something which Alex's method avoids. -miles -- Run away! Run away!