From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: main.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: David Kastrup Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel Subject: Re: Key binding M-g should really be goto-line Date: Wed, 02 Mar 2005 00:35:09 +0100 Message-ID: References: NNTP-Posting-Host: main.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1109720313 21203 80.91.229.2 (1 Mar 2005 23:38:33 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 1 Mar 2005 23:38:33 +0000 (UTC) Cc: emacs-devel@gnu.org Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Wed Mar 02 00:38:32 2005 Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([199.232.76.165]) by ciao.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1D6GwU-0001Y6-Nx for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Wed, 02 Mar 2005 00:38:19 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1D6HF8-0005CW-Tt for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Tue, 01 Mar 2005 18:57:34 -0500 Original-Received: from mailman by lists.gnu.org with tmda-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1D6H9F-0002qI-EU for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Tue, 01 Mar 2005 18:51:30 -0500 Original-Received: from exim by lists.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1D6H93-0002iD-5U for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Tue, 01 Mar 2005 18:51:19 -0500 Original-Received: from [199.232.76.173] (helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1D6H92-0002hM-EM for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Tue, 01 Mar 2005 18:51:16 -0500 Original-Received: from [199.232.76.164] (helo=fencepost.gnu.org) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.34) id 1D6GtS-0005yh-WA for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Tue, 01 Mar 2005 18:35:11 -0500 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=lola.goethe.zz) by fencepost.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.34) id 1D6GtS-0005Lj-Il; Tue, 01 Mar 2005 18:35:10 -0500 Original-To: jari.aalto@cante.net (Jari Aalto+mail.emacs) In-Reply-To: (Jari Aalto's message of "Wed, 02 Mar 2005 00:58:00 +0200") User-Agent: Gnus/5.11 (Gnus v5.11) Emacs/22.0.50 (gnu/linux) X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: "Emacs development discussions." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Original-Sender: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Errors-To: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org X-MailScanner-To: ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org Xref: main.gmane.org gmane.emacs.devel:34017 X-Report-Spam: http://spam.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.devel:34017 jari.aalto@cante.net (Jari Aalto+mail.emacs) writes: > http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2004-03/msg00642.html > From: Richard Stallman > > "I want Emacs to move in the direction of doing word processing. It > may take years, but we will get there. Then commands to specify faces > will become important, and will need a good key binding. > > I chose the M-g binding for that reason, and the reason continues to > have force. So I don't intend to change that binding." > > Please, I have been watching this future over 10 years now and in the mean > time hundreds or thousands developers / code writers / designers / students > / teachers are all using > > M-g to mean goto-line I'd second that. And the reason is that it is my opinion that even in the text processing case M-g has little to none mnemonic value, and more in the context of text processing functions is needed, anyway, than just font selection. If we go that lane, it will more probably require opening a modifier like "super" or "alt" for it. Most keyboards by now readily have enough modifiers available. We will need a terminal shortcut for terminals that don't have it, like for Meta. Esc-Esc would be one possibility. It is easier to type than M-g, and it has more "this is a new class of commands" connotations. The two bindings already starting with Esc Esc would not suffer much (The Esc M-: binding is available as M-:, anyway). I think that would be a good escape route for text processing commands. I certainly would like to see M-g for goto-line. -- David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum