Re: Key binding M-g should really be goto-line

[David Kastrup <dak@gnu.org>]

Juri Linkov <juri@jurta.org> writes:

> I see `goto-line' finally bound to M-g in CVS.  Good news!  After
> such a big change, it is time now for a few improvements.

Can you spell "Can-Of-Worms"?  Can you spell "feature freeze"?

> 1. Before this change, font-lock-fontify-block was bound to `M-g
> M-g'.  Now it is bound to `M-o M-g'.  I suspect that the reason to
> bind it to `M-g M-g' was to make it easier to run this frequent
> command by typing the same key twice.  If this is true then now
> perhaps it should be rebound to `M-o M-o'.

So far, I can agree.

> 2. goto-line is not too frequent command to deserve the sole
> M-g key.  There are many other goto-related commands that could
> share the same mnemonics and have the common M-g prefix key.

Forget it.  No precedence, no previous desire, not fitting the feature
freeze.  Is this a plot to distract people from releasing?

> Other commands that deserve a key binding with a `M-g' prefix are:
>
> 2.1. next-error (alias goto-next-locus), previous-error
>
> The current key binding C-x ` is too hard to type on
> many keyboards, and it is the constant cause of complaints.

C-x ` completely sucks as a keybinding on many international
keyboards.  We need a new keybinding alternative at some point of
time.  But M-g is clean out, in my opinion.  Really.

My proposal for an C-x ` alternative would be C-x ? which appears to
be free at the moment.  ? is a frequent character in all languages I
know, and so it should be more accessible than ` on most keyboards.
It also is connotated with "error" somewhat.

-- 
David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum