Re: kill-region in 24.4 shouldn't require BEG and END

[Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca>]

> If the REGION argument is non-nil, then BEG and END shouldn't be
> required, since they're unused (except in one place where they aren't
> needed).  So the test
>    ⌜unless (and beg end)⌝
> in kill-region should be
>    ⌜unless (or region (and beg end))⌝
> and the docstring should point out that if REGION is non-nil, then BEG
> and END are unused and might as well be nil.

I think a simpler change would be to add, right after the `interactive'
line, a simple:

   (if region (setq beg (mark) end (point)))

Which would make it obvious that the beg/end arguments are not used when
region is non-nil, without having to scan the rest of the code.  And it
would keep the rest of the code simpler (less sprinkling of tests of
`region').

And we could even use another API where we only have BEG and END and say
that if BEG is the symbol `region', then use *the* region.


        Stefan