From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Eli Zaretskii Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel Subject: Re: `C-b' is backward-char, `left' is left-char - why? Date: Wed, 01 Jun 2011 09:23:30 -0400 Message-ID: References: <6F4054004B154CFB8E2753172D316C13@us.oracle.com> <4DE4F8D0.7010800@lanl.gov> Reply-To: Eli Zaretskii NNTP-Posting-Host: lo.gmane.org X-Trace: dough.gmane.org 1306935912 2629 80.91.229.12 (1 Jun 2011 13:45:12 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@dough.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Wed, 1 Jun 2011 13:45:12 +0000 (UTC) Cc: emacs-devel@gnu.org To: Andy Moreton Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Wed Jun 01 15:45:07 2011 Return-path: Envelope-to: ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([140.186.70.17]) by lo.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.69) (envelope-from ) id 1QRljO-0007ib-0r for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Wed, 01 Jun 2011 15:45:06 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([::1]:45169 helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1QRljM-0005Ps-Bv for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Wed, 01 Jun 2011 09:45:04 -0400 Original-Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([140.186.70.92]:40249) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1QRlOY-0007NF-36 for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Wed, 01 Jun 2011 09:23:35 -0400 Original-Received: from Debian-exim by eggs.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1QRlOU-0006Wn-Vw for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Wed, 01 Jun 2011 09:23:33 -0400 Original-Received: from fencepost.gnu.org ([140.186.70.10]:37607) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1QRlOU-0006Wj-MO for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Wed, 01 Jun 2011 09:23:30 -0400 Original-Received: from eliz by fencepost.gnu.org with local (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1QRlOU-0000vV-Ja; Wed, 01 Jun 2011 09:23:30 -0400 In-reply-to: (message from Andy Moreton on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 12:48:15 +0100) X-detected-operating-system: by eggs.gnu.org: GNU/Linux 2.6 (newer, 3) X-Received-From: 140.186.70.10 X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.14 Precedence: list List-Id: "Emacs development discussions." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Original-Sender: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.devel:140024 Archived-At: > From: Andy Moreton > Date: Wed, 01 Jun 2011 12:48:15 +0100 > > The help strings for 'left-char and 'backward-char could use some work. > It is unclear which moves according to screen display order and which > moves according to buffer character order. I don't feel a need to invest "some work" on the doc string of `backward-char', because that function has not changed in ages, certainly not now. If its doc string is unclear, then I wonder how did we all manage to use it all these years. Of course, I don't object if someone wants to work on that doc string. Regarding `left-char' and `right-char', the doc string says: Depending on the bidirectional context, this may move either backward or forward in the buffer. Believe it or not, but I tried to make it more precise for a long time, and this is the best I could come up with. There's a slightly different variant in the Emacs manual, maybe you will like it better. But both are not 100% accurate, because explaining what exactly it does would take a very long text that has no place in a doc string. If, after playing with the function in bidirectional context, you have suggestions for describing it better, please propose the change in the doc string that you think would make it more clear.