From: "Drew Adams" <drew.adams@oracle.com>
To: <emacs-devel@gnu.org>
Subject: RE: display.texi: (<line>,<col>) isn't documented.
Date: Thu, 7 Jun 2007 10:18:42 -0700 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <EIENLHALHGIMHGDOLMIMKEDHDCAA.drew.adams@oracle.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <87y7ivkago.fsf@debby.local.net>
> But let's see when we disambiguate it a bit with a 'c' or a dash:
>
> 300c40 300:40 300-40
> 12c12 12:12 12-12
> 13c71 13:71 13-71
> 1c0 1:0 1-0
> 12345c0 12345:0 12345-0
> 12345c12345 12345:12345 12345-12345
>
> With c the meaning is clearer, I think, with the dash it's more
> readable. I'd choose the single c.
In 30c40, what makes one necessarily associate the c with 40 and not 30? In
France, one writes 11h25 for 11:25 a.m. (time). That is, the `h' is
associated with the first number. Units are most often written after
quantities, not before: 12m, 15'34", 15min 34sec. (The US dollar is one
exception ($12); there are others.)
Some people have said that it is obvious that line comes before column. I
don't see why that's obvious, but if most people think it is, then there is
nothing wrong with (12,25).
12:25 can be confused with a time. 12-25 can be confused with a range of
some kind (12 through 25). 12.25 can be confused with a decimal number.
Parens are needed for grouping in 12,25 and 12;25 - otherwise, they can be
confused with separate mode-line entries (meaning whatever). 12'25" can be
confused with several things (but it does have the advantage of suggesting
major/primary (line) and minor/secondary (column) units - assuming that it
is clear to all that line is primary).
I think explicit units help, and are consistent and clear also when only one
unit is used (25c). I think they should be placed after the numbers, not
before: 12<line-unit>25<column-unit>. So, 12L25C or 12l25c or 12y25x or some
such. If we can spare a space, then it is even more readable: 12L 25C.
Uppercase letters such as L and C are hard to separate visually from the
digits. Using l and c risks confusion between l and 1.
It's true that x and y suggest geometric position, not lines and columns. x
and y also suggest horizontal and vertical directions, but they do not
suggest lines and columns. In a buffer, horizontal and vertical positions
can only mean lines and columns, however (unless one is thinking pixels).
It's true that y suggests increasing values toward the top, but practice
would soon put the lie to that association.
I prefer 25x 12y (or 12y 25x), personally, but I can live with any of the
proposals, including what we have now. Let the Grand Gnu choose.
next prev parent reply other threads:[~2007-06-07 17:18 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 73+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2007-06-05 23:19 display.texi: (<line>,<col>) isn't documented Alan Mackenzie
2007-06-06 16:59 ` Richard Stallman
2007-06-06 17:36 ` mode line: 1) indicate region size, if active; 2) highlight column # if > limit Drew Adams
2007-06-06 17:44 ` David House
2007-06-06 18:19 ` Drew Adams
2007-06-06 18:26 ` David House
2007-06-06 18:41 ` chad brown
2007-06-08 7:12 ` Richard Stallman
2007-06-22 23:13 ` Drew Adams
2007-06-23 13:19 ` Richard Stallman
2007-06-23 19:52 ` Juri Linkov
2007-06-24 14:40 ` Richard Stallman
2007-06-06 19:44 ` display.texi: (<line>,<col>) isn't documented David Kastrup
2007-06-06 20:07 ` Stefan Monnier
2007-06-06 20:09 ` Juanma Barranquero
2007-06-06 21:27 ` Juri Linkov
2007-06-07 15:12 ` Drew Adams
2007-06-07 15:17 ` David House
2007-06-07 15:30 ` Drew Adams
2007-06-07 15:40 ` Lennart Borgman (gmail)
2007-06-07 15:42 ` David House
2007-06-07 15:35 ` Juanma Barranquero
2007-06-07 15:44 ` David House
2007-06-07 15:45 ` Thomas Hühn
2007-06-07 15:49 ` Andreas Schwab
2007-06-07 16:15 ` Dieter Wilhelm
2007-06-07 17:18 ` Drew Adams [this message]
2007-06-07 17:28 ` Thomas Hühn
2007-06-07 17:42 ` Juanma Barranquero
2007-06-07 19:39 ` Jay Belanger
2007-06-07 20:17 ` Juri Linkov
2007-06-07 18:13 ` Dieter Wilhelm
2007-06-07 20:26 ` Alan Mackenzie
2007-06-07 21:20 ` Drew Adams
2007-06-07 21:33 ` Davis Herring
2007-06-08 14:24 ` Richard Stallman
2007-06-08 15:09 ` Drew Adams
2007-06-09 20:24 ` Richard Stallman
2007-06-09 20:35 ` Drew Adams
2007-06-09 21:34 ` Juri Linkov
2007-06-10 15:02 ` Drew Adams
2007-06-10 23:24 ` Johan Bockgård
2007-06-11 9:44 ` Richard Stallman
2007-06-11 17:21 ` Drew Adams
2007-06-13 8:07 ` Richard Stallman
2007-06-13 8:07 ` Richard Stallman
2007-06-10 13:18 ` Richard Stallman
2007-06-10 15:15 ` Drew Adams
2007-06-11 3:40 ` Miles Bader
2007-06-11 5:32 ` Drew Adams
2007-06-11 9:44 ` Richard Stallman
2007-06-11 9:50 ` David House
2007-06-11 17:30 ` Drew Adams
2007-06-08 7:11 ` Richard Stallman
2007-06-08 7:26 ` Thien-Thi Nguyen
2007-06-08 8:15 ` Kim F. Storm
2007-06-08 9:42 ` David House
2007-06-09 9:45 ` Richard Stallman
2007-06-08 8:11 ` Kim F. Storm
2007-06-08 8:38 ` Juri Linkov
2007-06-08 20:05 ` Dieter Wilhelm
2007-06-08 8:48 ` Nick Roberts
2007-06-06 21:57 ` Stephen Berman
2007-06-07 5:05 ` Werner LEMBERG
2007-06-10 8:35 ` Daniel Brockman
2007-06-10 14:27 ` Juri Linkov
2007-06-06 23:53 ` Jay Belanger
2007-06-07 0:07 ` David Kastrup
2007-06-07 0:08 ` Nick Roberts
2007-06-08 12:06 ` Alan Mackenzie
2007-06-07 8:23 ` tomas
2007-06-07 17:25 ` Alan Mackenzie
2007-06-08 8:26 ` tomas
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