Re: Dired $ and Speedbar (WAS) Re: Speedbar and XML

[Galen Boyer <galenboyer@hotpop.com>]

On 31 Oct 2002, eludlam@mathworks.com wrote:
>>>> Galen Boyer <galenboyer@hotpop.com> seems to think that:
>>On 30 Oct 2002, eludlam@mathworks.com wrote:
>>>>>> Galen Boyer <galenboyer@hotpop.com> seems to think that:
>>>>Has there been any integration of speedbar and XML?
>>>>
>>>>If looked around on google and sourceforge and it looks like I can
>>>>use some form of the XSLT-process integration.
>>>>
>>>>I've been using XAE which enables PSGML for editing.  Its very nice
>>>>in that it parses the DTD and then gives one context sensitive
>>>>drop-downs for insertion of appropriate tags, along with all the
>>>>PSGML functionality.  The one thing I can't seem to find is and easy
>>>>way to "browse" the code.  Speedbar would be perfect.
>>> 
>>> Speedbar can be extended to display just about anything.  It is just
>>> a matter of someone who knows the internal structures of the xml
>>> parsing code hacking something together to display the data
>>> structures.
>>> 
>>> I can lend a hand to someone trying to figure out the speedbar api.
>>
>>Hi Eric,
>>
>>I'm quite fond of the M-$ and $ functionality in dired.  Would it make
>>sense to allow for the same keystrokes within speedbar?  I can make it
>>happen with set-key ..., but I was wondering if the keystrokes were
>>similar enough that the modes should consider behaving the same.  (I'd
>>also ask the same question of the Gnus topic mode) I'm thinking of at
>>least three different ways for toggle the expandion and collapsing
>>when the of non-textual modes:
>>
>>  1) Gnus -- [space] on a topic mode.
>>  2) Dired -- [M-$] as well as [$]
>>  3) Speedbar -- [+ -]
>>
>>There are also inconsistencies.  Dired seems the most flexible.  It
>>allows for the expansion and collapsing of either the whole buffer, or
>>the particular hierarchy node point is on.  Gnus and Speedbar allow
>>for expansion of the particular hierarchy node point is on, only, but
>>Gnus also allows for expansion of the "hidden" entities with C-u
>>space.  Dired-x does this with M-o.  I think speedbar has a variable
>>for setting this, but no keystroke for toggling?  It seems it would
>>make sense that all expand and collapse functionality used the same
>>keystrokes.  It also would be nice if they all had analogous
>>functionality, but the latter is code that would have to be written,
>>while the former seems more of a philosophical question.
> 
> Dired and speedbar's display mechanism are quite different.

I'm aware of that.  I thought something Emacs tried to accomplish was
make analogous operations be performed by the same keystrokes.  Like, in
dired `^' takes me up "one hierarchy level" while in Gnus it also takes
me up "one hierarchy level", but those levels are completely different
beasts.

This is why I thought that the expand/collapse functionality of
different modes might make sense to all use the same keystrokes.

> As it turns out, newer versions speedbar can already use " " to toggle
> expansion of a line.  

Well, I'll be damned.  I didn't see it in C-h m.

Thanks.
-- 
Galen deForest Boyer
Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground.