Re: Some developement questions

[Phil Sainty <psainty@orcon.net.nz>]

On 02/09/18 05:40, hw wrote:
> Since when does Alt work the same as ESC?

I can't see a Meta key on a vt100 keyboard, so I suspect this has
been the situation from the beginning (so 30+ years for GNU Emacs
alone).


> Why shouldn't Emacs adjust to changes and adopt new key bindings so
> it becomes easier to use?

It's important to understand that changes which would make life easier
for you may well be making life harder for existing users.  Changing
established key bindings (which have been in muscle memory of many
users for literal decades) is a big deal.

Emacs provides tremendous flexibility when it comes to customising its
key bindings to meet your personal preferences; but remember that they
are your *personal* preferences, which may not match the preferences
or expectations of other users.


> The issue is that I very rarely use info and thus do not remember
> its key bindings.  Does the help page I got stuck in say anywhere
> how to get back?

Everything you need is in the Info menu.


>>> I have menu and toolbar disabled ...
>>
>> Complaining about navigability and discoverability of an interface
>> while having disabled its most discoverable features meant to guide
>> new users is a strange combination.
>
> I'm pointing out a usability issue and you call it complaining.

The menu bar directly addresses that usability issue.  That's its
purpose.

It's a bit like removing the training wheels from a bicycle and then
wondering why the bike allowed you to fall over when you lost your
balance, no?

I wouldn't recommend disabling the menus in *any* application without
establishing how to access them again if you realised you needed to.
With Emacs, even with the menu bar disabled, you still have access to
them via F10 or M-` and in GUI frames the Info menu is also directly
available via the mode line.


-Phil