Re: RE: RE: Auto Fill Comments

[Christopher Dimech <dimech@gmx.com>]

> Sent: Friday, November 27, 2020 at 2:57 AM
> From: "arthur miller" <arthur.miller@live.com>
> To: "Christopher Dimech" <dimech@gmx.com>, "Drew Adams" <drew.adams@oracle.com>
> Cc: "help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org" <help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>
> Subject: RE: RE: Auto Fill Comments
>
> Yes, Emacs terminology is old. I dislike killing stuff, reminds me of war, I never heard  word yank before I start using and font locking sounds like I am in a prison. But if you can go past few names, Emacs is quite useful piece of software. Probably the most advanced terminal emulator I have ever used, and it even has a text editor built in.

Sure, I spend much of my time in emacs.  But there is much more work to do on it
to became really good and quick to code in elisp,

> And nowadays it can swap more than 8 meg of ram too!
> 
> 
> -------- Originalmeddelande --------
> Från: Christopher Dimech <dimech@gmx.com>
> Datum: 2020-11-27 01:48 (GMT+01:00)
> Till: Drew Adams <drew.adams@oracle.com>
> Kopia: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org
> Ämne: Re: RE: Auto Fill Comments
> 
> The manuals should be rewritten because they are incomprehensible.
> Perhaps it was good in the eighties.  It continues forever.  Consider
> "face customisation" for instance, which just means font.  Nobody
> fuckin reads a manual with 17 nodes.  You don't know which one to use,
> which commands are most useful, and so on.  The problem gets compounded
> because every esoteric command is there.
> 
> You are just insisting on something bad and inefficient.
> 
> 
> ---------------------
> Christopher Dimech
> General Administrator - Naiad Informatics - GNU Project (Geocomputation)
> - Geophysical Simulation
> - Geological Subsurface Mapping
> - Disaster Preparedness and Mitigation
> - Natural Resource Exploration and Production
> - Free Software Advocacy
> 
> 
> > Sent: Thursday, November 26, 2020 at 10:51 PM
> > From: "Drew Adams" <drew.adams@oracle.com>
> > To: "Christopher Dimech" <dimech@gmx.com>, tomas@tuxteam.de
> > Cc: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org
> > Subject: RE: Auto Fill Comments
> >
> > > Had thought that setq was actually a global
> > > thing, not local. For local variables I was
> > > using "let" and "let*", but that seems a
> > > wrong understanding.
> >
> > Please read the manual, node `Variables', as
> > Tomas advised.  But don't just skim it.  And
> > read its (5) subnodes.
> >
> > https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/emacs/Variables.html
> >
> > As seems to be the case with many of your
> > questions, this is all explained clearly in
> > the Emacs doc.
> >
> > There are local variables and ... local
> > variables.  Variables bound by `let',
> > `lambda', and named functions (formal
> > parameters) are typically local in more or
> > less the usual programming sense.
> >
> > [But if such a variable is in fact defined
> >  as "special", or global if you prefer,
> >  then a `let' binding of it is "local" to
> >  the _duration_ of the `let' - the binding
> >  is _temporary_.  E.g., (defvar foo 42)
> >  followed by (let ((foo 24)) ...) may
> >  (depending on the context) bind global
> >  variable `foo' temporarily to 24.]
> >
> > Buffer-local and file-local variables are
> > something else altogether.  They are global
> > variables that have a value that is specific
> > to - local in scope to - the current buffer
> > or file.  Some variables have a buffer-local
> > value in some buffers but only a global
> > value in other buffers (no buffer-local
> > value there).  Other variables are always
> > only buffer-local.
> >
> > But again, don't listen to my explanation.
> > Consult the doc instead.  It's more exact,
> > more complete, and better presented
> > (clearer).
> >
> > And when you've read what the Emacs manual
> > has to tell you about variables, consider
> > reading what the Elisp manual has to say
> > about variables.  There too, start with its
> > node `Variables', and move on to its (17!)
> > subnodes.
> >
> > https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/elisp/Variables.html
> >
> > You don't do yourself any favors, or
> > encourage help in forums such as this, by
> > not trying to make use of the doc.
> >
> > The doc is the result of years of effort
> > and collaboration, taking into account
> > tons of feedback by users of all sorts.
> > You're not special - try benefitting from
> > the efforts of those who've gone before.
> > THEN, if you have a question, please do
> > ask it.
> >
> > HTH.
> >
> 
>