Re: Some developement questions

[hw <hw@adminart.net>]

Filipp Gunbin <fgunbin@fastmail.fm> writes:

> On 04/09/2018 16:16 +0200, hw wrote:
>
>> Filipp Gunbin <fgunbin@fastmail.fm> writes:
>>
>>> On 31/08/2018 01:49 +0200, hw wrote:
>>>
>>>> Filipp Gunbin <fgunbin@fastmail.fm> writes:
>>>>
>>>>> On 29/08/2018 22:52 +0200, hw wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>>> I ended up getting stuck in the help documentation of info and
>>>>>> actually had to kill the buffer to be able to start over because I
>>>>>> couldn't get anywhere else from there.
>>>>>
>>>>> You could use `C-h m' to find about Info-history-back which is bound to
>>>>> `l'.  Or Info-history (`L') for the history.
>>>>
>>>> And how would I know this?
>>>
>>> The same way as a user would know about `C-h k' or other basic help
>>> commands.  If a user doesn't know them (from manuals or tutorials), then
>>> she probably should not switch off menu/tool bars.  Just to not get
>>> lost.
>>
>> Ok, Emacs should be able to automatically switch on or off the menu (and
>> perhaps the tool bar) depending on the mode of a buffer.
>
> Emacs cannot guess for the user when she needs or does not need a menu
> bar or a tool bar.  You have to instruct it to, somehow.

Can I do that per mode?  So I could have them automatically enabled when
in info mode and automatically disabled when not?  Emacs could
automatically remember the last setting for each mode I used, so no
additional instructing would be necessary.

>> Info mode should understand the contemporary key bindings M-left and
>> M-right to go back and forth in the history.  (Those are bound to
>> movement by word, which is probably not extremely useful in info
>> buffers.)
>>
>> Should I make a feature request?
>
> It's very useful.  At least for me - when I read info, I usually move
> the cursor by word or by sentence.

That probably means there would be a lot of resistance to get these
useful key bindings to be the default :(

Please try word-wise movement on a German keyboard with these keys.  Do
not use the Alt key for this because it has been almost 30 years that it
was not possible to use that like ESC at all.  Force yourself to do it
for at least two hours; after that, you may use the Alt key and try for
another two hours.  Then tell me how useful these key bindindings really
are :)

> Well, this thread looks like you're describing how you fight with Emacs
> defaults.  You could make your own set of customizations and see what
> comes out of it.  Maybe others will find them useful.

You could always change the default to your preference after it has
changed to something people are more likely to know.  You could propose
that all web browsers start using 'l' to move backwards in history, too.

> Have you looked at Emacs derivatives, like Spacemacs?  I think they
> should be closer to "modern" editors than vanilla Emacs.

I looked at vim.  Besides, "modern" doesn't mean "good".