From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Alan Mackenzie Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel Subject: Mode line documentation in Emacs manual fails. Date: Mon, 8 Dec 2008 12:49:54 +0000 Message-ID: <20081208124954.GA4139@muc.de> NNTP-Posting-Host: lo.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Trace: ger.gmane.org 1228739754 16795 80.91.229.12 (8 Dec 2008 12:35:54 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@ger.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Mon, 8 Dec 2008 12:35:54 +0000 (UTC) To: emacs-devel@gnu.org Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Mon Dec 08 13:37:00 2008 Return-path: Envelope-to: ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([199.232.76.165]) by lo.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.50) id 1L9fM8-0006dy-Qg for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Mon, 08 Dec 2008 13:36:57 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1]:38809 helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1L9fKv-0002DS-G9 for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Mon, 08 Dec 2008 07:35:41 -0500 Original-Received: from mailman by lists.gnu.org with tmda-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1L9fKr-0002BW-4k for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Mon, 08 Dec 2008 07:35:37 -0500 Original-Received: from exim by lists.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1L9fKq-0002Af-2B for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Mon, 08 Dec 2008 07:35:36 -0500 Original-Received: from [199.232.76.173] (port=49846 helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1L9fKp-0002AY-U8 for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Mon, 08 Dec 2008 07:35:35 -0500 Original-Received: from colin.muc.de ([193.149.48.1]:2285 helo=mail.muc.de) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtps (TLS-1.0:DHE_RSA_AES_256_CBC_SHA1:32) (Exim 4.60) (envelope-from ) id 1L9fKp-0007RP-Ea for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Mon, 08 Dec 2008 07:35:35 -0500 Original-Received: (qmail 62060 invoked by uid 3782); 8 Dec 2008 12:35:24 -0000 Original-Received: from acm.muc.de (pD9E527B3.dip.t-dialin.net [217.229.39.179]) by colin2.muc.de (tmda-ofmipd) with ESMTP; Mon, 08 Dec 2008 13:35:22 +0100 Original-Received: (qmail 4617 invoked by uid 1000); 8 Dec 2008 12:49:54 -0000 Content-Disposition: inline User-Agent: Mutt/1.5.9i X-Delivery-Agent: TMDA/1.1.5 (Fettercairn) X-Primary-Address: acm@muc.de X-detected-operating-system: by monty-python.gnu.org: FreeBSD 4.6-4.9 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 Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.devel:106673 Archived-At: Hi, Emacs! Sorry to be so negative, but I see this on a mode line on a text-only terminal: -111:---F4 31n/diff-bug-dir.sh All L7 C0 (Shell-script[bash])----P202/810 What does the "-111:-" bit mean? OK, I could certainly work it out from the manual, but this working out is arduous indeed. On manual page "Mode Line": CS describes the character set of the buffer (see Coding Systems). If it is a dash (`-'), that indicates the default state of affairs: no special character set handling, except for the end-of-line translations described in the next paragraph. `=' means no conversion whatsoever. Letters represent various nontrivial "coding systems"--for example, `1' represents ISO Latin-1. On a text-only terminal, CS is preceded by two additional characters that describe the coding system for keyboard input and the coding system for terminal output. Furthermore, if you are using an input method, CS is preceded by a string that identifies the input method, which takes the form `I>', `I+', or `I@' (see Input Methods). "`1' represents ISO Latin-1". Is this the left `1', the middle `1', or the right `1'? "On a text-only terminal, CS is preceded by two additional characters that describe the coding system for keyboard input and the coding system for terminal output". This is surely wrong. These two additional characters are part of CS, aren't they? I think my greatest difficulty is picking out the CS field from the rest of the mode line. The text is confused as to whether the ":" is part of the CS field or not. "If it is a dash (`-') ...." is very squidgy, because the field is (?sometimes?) preceded by a dash. Why is the default "-" character the same as the content-free leader character? "The CS string and the colon character after it describe the character set .....". How does the colon character aid in this description? I think there's too much woffle in this section, e.g. "Normally, Emacs handles these settings intelligently, but it is sometimes useful to have this information" doesn't seem to say anything much. -- Alan Mackenzie (Nuremberg, Germany).