M-x comment-region

M-x comment-region

[Richard Stallman]

I think I fixed the problem.  M-x comment-region
for Lisp code should now use ;; if indenting a whole function
and ;;; if indenting just part of a function.
In the latter case there should be enough indentation after the ;;;
to prevent it from being treated as an outline header.

Does it work right, now?

Re: M-x comment-region

[Miles Bader]

Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org> writes:
> I think I fixed the problem.  M-x comment-region
> for Lisp code should now use ;; if indenting a whole function
> and ;;; if indenting just part of a function.

Why is it ever necessary to use ";;;" for commenting out lisp code?

Other modes (e.g. c-mode and c++-mode) simply add comment markers
indented as if they were source code (apparently using the minimum
indentation of the commented-out lines); couldn't lisp-mode do the the
same thing using ";;" all cases?

[It's not that I object or anything, it's just that I'm confused as to
why there's so much fiddling around with comment-region in the specific
case of lisp-mode.  I assume there must be _some_ reason, as
newcomment.el seem to go to a lot of trouble to do this...]

-Miles

-- 
Love is a snowmobile racing across the tundra.  Suddenly it flips over,
pinning you underneath.  At night the ice weasels come.  --Nietzsche

Re: M-x comment-region

[Stefan Monnier]

> [It's not that I object or anything, it's just that I'm confused as to
> why there's so much fiddling around with comment-region in the specific
> case of lisp-mode.  I assume there must be _some_ reason, as
> newcomment.el seem to go to a lot of trouble to do this...]

AFAIK, the only reason is that Richard *really* likes it this way.
I guess it was written on one of the ten tablets, or something like that.


        Stefan

Re: M-x comment-region

[Tassilo Horn]

Richard Stallman <rms@gnu.org> writes:

Hi Richard,

> I think I fixed the problem.  M-x comment-region for Lisp code should
> now use ;; if indenting a whole function and ;;; if indenting just
> part of a function.  In the latter case there should be enough
> indentation after the ;;; to prevent it from being treated as an
> outline header.
>
> Does it work right, now?

Yes, it does.  Thanks a lot.

Bye,
Tassilo

Re: M-x comment-region

[Richard Stallman]

    Why is it ever necessary to use ";;;" for commenting out lisp code?

It isn't necessary, but it is best.
It is best because the commenting out is more visible this way.

Re: M-x comment-region

[Ævar Arnfjörð Bjarmason]

Miles Bader <miles@gnu.org> writes:

> [It's not that I object or anything, it's just that I'm confused as to
> why there's so much fiddling around with comment-region in the specific
> case of lisp-mode.  I assume there must be _some_ reason, as
> newcomment.el seem to go to a lot of trouble to do this...]

See "D.7 Tips on Writing Comments" in the Elisp manual for the
conventions that are used for different number of semicolons in Elisp
(and sometimes CL and Scheme) comments.