🚀 go-pugleaf

After five years using EMACS, I'm finally getting to know it well
enough to do some real hacking myself.  Here are some of my thoughts
on these problems and suggestions:

In article <9009042157.AA26746@cochlea.bu.edu> slehar@BUCASB.BU.EDU writes:

> The basic movement commands are difficult to master...

My fix to this is using the Emacs term-file-prefix and term-setup-hook
to let me use REAL arrow keys on whatever terminal I'm on.  Of course,
these sometimes conflict with other commands -- we use WYSE-50 around
the lab here, and they bind the arrow keys to C-h, C-k, C-j, and C-l.
YUCK!  So, I wrote a tweek which lets you use the numeric keypad to
function as a cursor pad.

> The meta- key is used  very extensively  in emacs although it is not
> even a  standard key on most  keyboards, and the  alternative use of
> ESC is  very clumsy, and forces  emacs   users to learn two  sets of
> motions for common  operations   on  different keyboards.    It also
> happens to  be one of   the keys  that   are always in  a  different
> position  on different keyboards.   Its not clear  how  this problem
> could be overcome.

This is indeed a problem.  Some nice terminal packages (like the NCSA
Telnet software and TinCan on the Macintosh) let you reprogram the
keyboard itself ("Pretend that ~ is actually ESC.")  Again, setups for
particular terminals can help, because Emacs is powerful enough to
give you a lot of help.  (Use ~ as the M- prefix, and program ESC-~ to
give you a normal tilde, for example.)  It would be nice if more
computers did have Meta keys.

> C-h is a  logical key for help  mode, but  unfortunately it is  also
> defined as delete, or is it back space?.

Backspace.  Around here, we all do what you suggested, and make both
BS and DEL (delete-backward-char), then use M-h for the help command.
You can chose your own -- I don't use (mark-paragraph) much.

> The big jump commands C-v and M-v always jump one page ahead  of the
> cursor, so that when you stop jumping, you then must move the cursor
> again to center it on the page, or jump a page beyond where you want
> to go and then  center with  C-l.  Either way you  do more work than
> necessary.   These jump commands should always  place  the cursor in
> the middle of the page.

My own gripe here -- how come there aren't two separate commands for
recenter and redraw?  If you've ever worked over even a 1200 baud
modem...

> The delete  word command    M-d picks  the  strangest  criteria  for
> determining separation between 'words'. 

Can't this just be solved by using (modify-syntax-entry)?  Of course,
you'd like this to change automatically when you change modes, so
let's request this:  ALL MODES should have an XXXX-mode-hook, not just
shell-mode, lisp-mode, emacs-lisp-mode, and specialties like
gnus-Article-mode-hook.  Then we could set things up however we
wanted for any particular mode.

> There is no function to produce double-spacing in text mode.

I used to try to use Emacs as a word processor.  This is a good way to
give yourself headaches.  You CAN automate the process with a small
elisp function, or you could even set <CR> to insert a pair of <CR>'s
so that your text is double-spaced as you type it.

> The undo command is very useful.  If however you have many undo's to
> perform, you run into a problem when  you exceed the limit of stored
> undo information.   If you give it  one  too many undo  commands, it
> starts undoing   the undo's  themselves!

I frequently use the trick of moving while in the middle of a sequence
of undos, so that I can undo the undos.  But it might be nice if undo
undid everything BUT undo, and there was a separate redo, as David
Gillespie suggested (don't have the article reference.)

Thanks for the short help file -- that can be REALLY useful for
novices!

Noldoatan