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: Default Emacs keybindings Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 12:41:34 +0000 (UTC) Sender: emacs-devel-bounces+emacs-devel=quimby.gnus.org@gnu.org Message-ID: References: <20040502211541.GA26227@fencepost> <85y8oa6nwi.fsf@junk.nocrew.org> <87n04paner.fsf@peder.flower> Reply-To: bob@rattlesnake.com NNTP-Posting-Host: deer.gmane.org X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1083848944 1538 80.91.224.253 (6 May 2004 13:09:04 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 6 May 2004 13:09:04 +0000 (UTC) Cc: emacs-devel@gnu.org Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+emacs-devel=quimby.gnus.org@gnu.org Thu May 06 15:08:55 2004 Return-path: Original-Received: from quimby.gnus.org ([80.91.224.244]) by deer.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 1BLicR-0005d9-00 for ; Thu, 06 May 2004 15:08:55 +0200 Original-Received: from monty-python.gnu.org ([199.232.76.173]) by quimby.gnus.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 1BLicR-0007Pg-00 for ; Thu, 06 May 2004 15:08:55 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.30) id 1BLiO1-0006eN-0t for emacs-devel@quimby.gnus.org; Thu, 06 May 2004 08:54:01 -0400 Original-Received: from list by monty-python.gnu.org with tmda-scanned (Exim 4.30) id 1BLiMP-0006di-9Y for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Thu, 06 May 2004 08:52:21 -0400 Original-Received: from mail by monty-python.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.30) id 1BLiLs-0006V0-FF for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Thu, 06 May 2004 08:52:19 -0400 Original-Received: from [140.186.114.245] (helo=rattlesnake.com) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.30) id 1BLiC7-0004zV-8Z; Thu, 06 May 2004 08:41:43 -0400 Original-Received: by rattlesnake.com via sendmail from stdin id (Debian Smail3.2.0.115) Thu, 6 May 2004 12:41:34 +0000 (UTC) Original-To: rms@gnu.org In-reply-to: (message from Richard Stallman on Wed, 05 May 2004 16:20:14 -0400) X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.4 Precedence: list List-Id: "Emacs development discussions." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: emacs-devel-bounces+emacs-devel=quimby.gnus.org@gnu.org Xref: main.gmane.org gmane.emacs.devel:22849 X-Report-Spam: http://spam.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.devel:22849 You are good at writing clear documentation. With the information that was posted, can you write clear documentation for this? No, there is not enough info for me. I do not understand keybindings. I do not know how to construct key mapping files that work for people using various GNU systems. For example, I do not know how to read the full key information provided by xev or xkeycaps or showkeys, even though I have read the man pages numerous times. I grasp enough so that with trial and error, I was able, a long time ago, to figure out what to do and write notes. That is all. I do not know what to read that is at the right level for me and which will tell me what I need to learn. On the one hand, I've seen documentation that presumes I know or remember much more than I do. I do not understand what it says. On the other hand, I'v seen documentation that presumes I know nothing. This tells me too little. Documentation that says too little tends to say things like, "run `install-keymap emacs2'". That is fine if that works. But does not tell what to do when it fails. Fortunately, I know that when `install-keymap' fails, I should run `loadkeys /usr/share/keymaps/i386/qwerty/emacs2.kmap.gz' Unfortunately, but I do not know what to do when that command fails. What do I do with that command to get a Euro symbol both in an xterm and in an instance of Emacs -- a symbol that will be readable on a Web page as well as in Emacs, or that will be readable in an email message from me if they use some strange non-Emacs email reader? I have a note to myself for inserting a Euro symbol into an Emacs buffer using "rfc1345" but I have no idea whether that is a good method or not. My note also says ;; Note that there exists ;; ISO 2022 based 8-bit encoding for Latin-5 (MIME:ISO-8859-9). ;; but I do not know how to insert a Euro symbol with it. Since the Euro symbol is not important to me, that is as far as I have gone. Obviously, the Euro symbol is important to many other people. What should I read to learn about keybindings, including new features like the Euro symbol? I don't know. Worse, as I said, I do not know how to construct key mapping files that work for people using various GNU systems: some time ago, I tested the methods I use on the three different keyboards that I use, and that is all. (All three systems use a Linux kernel.) The goal is to suggest one action or several actions that are likely to work with all GNU systems. (I have not the foggiest knowledge about non-GNU systems, nor much interest.) -- Robert J. Chassell Rattlesnake Enterprises As I slowly update it, bob@rattlesnake.com I rewrite a "What's New" segment for http://www.rattlesnake.com