Re: [ELPA] New package: dict

[Eshel Yaron <me@eshelyaron.com>]

Eli, Philip, thanks for looking into it.

Philip Kaludercic <philipk@posteo.net> writes:

> Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org> writes:
>
>>> From: Eshel Yaron <me@eshelyaron.com>
>>> Date: Thu, 11 May 2023 16:22:06 +0300
>>> 
>>> The main motivation behind this package was to resolve some usability issues
>>> that I came across with dictionary.el.  Namely, I'm not satisfied with the fact
>>> that dictionary.el unconditionally switches to the *Dictionary* buffer when
>>> displaying a definition, and I don't appreciate how it tries to remember my
>>> previous windows configuration and revert back to it when I close the
>>> *Dictionary* buffer with the q key.  Of course, I'm open to the possibility of
>>> modifying dictionary.el instead of adding this separate package GNU ELPA if
>>> anyone thinks that's preferable, but I also think it would be nice to let people
>>> try out Dict and get some feedback beforehand.
>>
>> I think if we could augment dictionary.el so as to satisfy your needs,
>> perhaps as some kind of minor mode or user option, that would be
>> better than having an entirely separate package.

Alright, I can give augmenting dictionary.el a shot.  The way I see it,
this has the downside that it'll only be available in Emacs 30, and I'm
not sure how elegant that's gonna be, but I guess I can put a patch
together for emacs.git and then reassess.
>
> I don't think that is possible, Eshel writes on his website:
>
>    Dict’s differentiation comes from its simplicity and
>    extensibility–while dictionary.el defines a bespoke major mode and
>    interface for browsing word definitions, Dict leverages Emacs’s Help
>    mode by default, and let’s you extend and control every aspect of its
>    behavior via customization options.
>
>    dict.el is also shorter than dictionary.el–just under 300 lines of
>    code!
>
> This is a ERC vs rcirc like situation.

I'm afraid I haven't used ERC enough to understand this comparison, does
it imply that you think it'll be hard to keep Dict's simplicity intact
upon incorporating it with dictionary.el?


-- 
Best,

Eshel