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From: Alan Mackenzie <acm@muc.de>
Subject: What're the proper names for the backspace and delete keys in files.texi?
Date: Mon, 19 Dec 2005 21:47:40 +0000 (GMT)	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <Pine.LNX.3.96.1051219212948.261D-100000@acm.acm> (raw)

Hi, Emacs!

In the Emacs manual, the <backspace> key (the one that deletes backwards)
seems sometimes to be called @key{BS}, and at other times @key{BACKSPACE}
or @key{DEL}.

The <delete> key (the one over the arrow keys and which deletes forward)
sports the name @key{DELETE}.  I think it's always written in capitals,
but I'm not sure.

The names recommended by the Texinfo manual (on page "key") are @key{BS}
for backspace and (I think) @key{DEL} for _FORWARD_ delete.

I'm not totally unconfused, and I'm surely not the only one.  Would it
perhaps be sensible to decide on standard names for these keys and
promulgate them through the Emacs, Elisp (and CC Mode :-) manuals?

My suggestion is that (i) the backspace key should always be called
@key{BS}, despite the fact that the character it generates is ASCII DEL;
(ii) the delete key gets called @key{Delete} or @key{delete}, despite the
recommendations of the Texinfo manual.  I think @key{DEL} should be
avoided altogether, since its use as a key name contradicts is use as an
ASCII character name.

-- 
Alan Mackenzie (Munich, Germany)

             reply	other threads:[~2005-12-19 21:47 UTC|newest]

Thread overview: 19+ messages / expand[flat|nested]  mbox.gz  Atom feed  top
2005-12-19 21:47 Alan Mackenzie [this message]
2005-12-20  5:33 ` What're the proper names for the backspace and delete keys in files.texi? Richard M. Stallman
2005-12-20  7:06   ` Stefan Monnier
2006-01-12 13:16   ` Alan Mackenzie
2006-01-12 20:10     ` Eli Zaretskii
2006-01-12 21:27       ` Alan Mackenzie
2006-01-13  8:04         ` Eli Zaretskii
2006-01-13  9:09         ` Neil Jerram
2006-01-13 16:55           ` Lennart Borgman
2006-01-13 17:26             ` Neil Jerram
2006-01-13 20:03             ` Aidan Kehoe
2006-01-13 19:38           ` Eli Zaretskii
2006-01-13 21:31             ` Drew Adams
2006-01-19 17:45     ` Richard M. Stallman
2006-01-16 12:39   ` Alan Mackenzie
2006-01-16 18:48     ` Thien-Thi Nguyen
2006-01-17  3:25     ` Richard M. Stallman
2006-01-17 11:00       ` Alan Mackenzie
2006-01-17 19:59         ` Richard M. Stallman

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