bug#4041: 23.0.92; Emacs 23: buffer point is no longer frame-local

[martin rudalics <rudalics@gmx.at>]

 > So I don't think switch-to-next/prev-buffer can be a convenient
 > solution to this problem.

Did you try it in practice?  With some convenient binding?  In my
experience, the buffer isn't too far away, usually.

 > What is necessary is a way to switch to a buffer by name and have the
 > window remember its previous window-point.  If the buffer was never
 > displayed in this window, "C-x b" should choose some value of
 > window-point that was used before and is not already displayed in some
 > other window.  (If there's a window for every possible value of
 > window-point for the buffer, i.e. the user opens yet another window
 > with the same buffer, just choose one of the values, e.g., the first
 > or the last.)  For the important use case of having 2 windows with the
 > same buffer, this strategy will do _exactly_ what the user wants.

Using the window-point from some other window will be utterly
disconcerting if you later want to display the buffer in _that_ other
window.  Recording window-points of deleted windows to implement the
"used before" approach might be expensive - these are markers into that
buffer.

 > Yes, but it works satisfactorily only if you switch between 2 buffers
 > in the same window.  Switch to a third, and you are screwed.

Try them.  I have bound `switch-to-prev-buffer' and
`switch-to-next-buffer' to M-left and M-right respectively and use them
all of the time.  Especially, because I usually tend to forget the names
of buffers I'm working on.  When you grow old enough you will eventually
even appreciate that.  Till then try the version of `switch-to-buffer' I
attached to the last mail and tell me whether you really need more.

 > (And, btw, why aren't those 2 functions documented in the user
 > manual?)

Because I haven't looked into that yet.

martin