Re: [Emacs-diffs] master 0245cc3: Improve accessibility of window dividers. (Bug#20183)

[Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca>]

> Then I noticed that all items in the Show/Hide group are minor modes.
> Some of them in a contorted sense - both `fringe-mode' and
> `mouse-avoidance-mode' are simple defuns.  I would have preferred to do
> it their style, possibly using completing read.  But I tried to be a
> good citizen and specified `window-divider-mode' in a sense similar to
> `scroll-bar-mode' - the only mode I found that was specified via
> `define-minor-mode' and allowed more than two values.

Indeed, we have problems in there.  Minor modes are designed to be
booleans only.  For after-the-fact situations, we sometimes try to find
a contorted way to consider the feature as a minor mode, even tho it
doesn't quite fit.  But when defining a new feature I think it's
worthwhile to try and design the feature such that it fits.

> But how would a user customize switching from the `right-only' to the
> `bottom-only' state?  How would a user specify the preferred initial
> state?

With the second variable (e.g. could be called `window-divider-places'),
rather than the minor mode variable.


        Stefan