Re: Menu suggestion

[David Kastrup <dak@gnu.org>]

no-spam@cua.dk (Kim F. Storm) writes:

> Juanma Barranquero <jmbarranquero@wke.es> writes:
> 
> > On 30 Apr 2004 19:30:46 +0200
> > storm@cua.dk (Kim F. Storm) wrote:
> > 
> > > It seems that a good part of the emacs developers don't actually
> > > use the emacs bindings --
> > 
> > I've been using Emacs daily for the past seven years, and I hardly
> > use C-f, C-b, etc.
> > 
> > Yeah, they're faster than arrow keys if you're used to them, but
> > perhaps I don't usually need the raw typing speed, and I find them
> > extremely non-intuitive... (now, if we were talking of vi/nethack
> > cursor motion commands... :)
> 
> So the tutorial could start by asking the user a number of
> quiestions:
> 
> 1) Do you have a Happy Hacker keyboard ?
> 2) Do you use C-z, C-x, C-c, C-v for undo, cut, copy, and paste ?
>
> and then omit/include the relevant parts in the tutorial...

That's not fair because it tries to make the user's choice for him.
An experienced user exposed to other programs will _of_ _course_ be
using C-z C-x C-c C-v.  That does not mean that he is unable to learn
other bindings if he knows the drawbacks associated with CUA
bindings, and it would be unfair to be silent about them.

Actually, this question need not get asked but can be figured out
from the current settings.  You would then get something like

   This is the tutorial for CUA-mode.  CUA-mode offers keybindings for
   C-z, C-x, C-c and C-v as well as several others that are customary
   among applications different from Emacs.  Since those bindings
   clash with several important ones from Emacs, CUA-mode has to do
   some circumventions in order not to have them shadowed
   irretrievably.  This makes some operations somewhat tricky.
   CUA-mode is therefore not the default in Emacs and you might
   consider learning the native bindings by using the Options menu to
   switch off CUA-mode and selecting the tutorial again.

or

   This is the tutorial for Emacs' normal keybindings.  A different
   tutorial is available for CUA-mode.  CUA-mode offers keybindings
   for C-z, C-x, C-c and C-v as well as several others that are
   customary among applications different from Emacs.  Since those
   bindings clash with several important ones from Emacs, CUA-mode has
   to do some circumventions in order not to have them shadowed
   irretrievably.  This makes some operations somewhat tricky.
   CUA-mode is therefore not the default in Emacs.  If you still
   rather want the more widespread bindings of CUA-mode, use the
   Options menu to switch on CUA-mode and select the tutorial again.

Anyway, unless I am mistaken, CUA-mode consists of more than C-c C-x
C-v C-z bindings.  There are some parts of it unless I am mistaken
that don't interfere with standard keybindings and selections, or at
least not to a large degree.  Maybe it would be possible to adapt all
those parts of CUA-mode that don't clash with existing bindings too
badly.

For example, C-z would probably not be too horrible to give up to CUA
bindings, at least under Window systems.  And the same probably goes
for some key sequences for selections apart from the above ones.

If we can get most of CUA in, and just customize the more controversal
items to off, maybe a separate tutorial would not be needed.

-- 
David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum