Re: Somehow strange behaviour of `mark-sexp'

[Barry Margolin <barmar@alum.mit.edu>]

In article <mailman.14952.1392303843.10748.help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>,
 Thorsten Jolitz <tjolitz@gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi List, 
> 
> when doing 'C-h v mark-sexp' I see this (excerpt):
> 
> ,-----------------------------------------------------------------
> | mark-sexp is an interactive compiled Lisp function in `lisp.el'.
> | 
> | It is bound to C-M-@, C-M-SPC.
> `-----------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> Now, moving point to the beginning of C-M-@ and calling ` mark-sexp',
> 
> ,-----
> | C-M-
> `-----
> 
> is marked. When moving point to the @ at the end of C-M-@ and calling
> `mark-sexp',
> 
> ,-----------
> | @, C-M-SPC
> `-----------
> 
> is marked, which I found a bit counter-intuitive.
> 
> PS 1
> 
> `forward-sexp' acts like that too
> 
> PS 2
> 
> I'm working on the console

@, is part of backquote syntax, it unquotes the sexp following it. So it 
thinks @, C-M-SPC is @, unquoting the variable C-M-SPC, and that's a 
sexp.

I'm not sure why you would expect sensible behavior from a command 
intended for dealing with Lisp code in the *Help* buffer, which is just 
plain text.

-- 
Barry Margolin, barmar@alum.mit.edu
Arlington, MA
*** PLEASE post questions in newsgroups, not directly to me ***