Re: The minibuffer vs. Dialog Boxes (Re: Making XEmacs be more up-to-date)

[Eli Zaretskii]

> From: Terje Bless <address@hidden>
> Date: Sat, 20 Apr 2002 13:03:10 +0200
> 
> I've been using XEmacs for programming since the early nineties. I _still_
> have no clue how to switch between buffers from the keyboard!

Is this complaint about the documentation or about the functionality?

While the docs might have this in some non-evident place (although it
isn't in GNU Emacs, and I'd be surprised if it was any different in
XEmacs), the functionality is _certainly_ there: type "C-x b" and
follow the prompts.

> And speaking of which, the thing that confused me most over the years was
> the terminology. A "buffer" is a "document" and a "frame" is a "window"?
> Why do I have to choose "New Frame" when what I /really/ want is a new
> window? And I don't work with "buffers"; I work with "files" or
> "documents". "Buffers" are something hardware /has/ or that I implement in
> code, it's not something I work with day-to-day.

There's a Glossary in the manual to ease the culture shock.  I think
we should advertise the glossary more, and perhaps make it more
accessible by providing special links to it from doc strings etc.

I don't think it's reasonable to expect Emacs to change its
terminology because most of it predates the one you are accustomed to.
For example, Emacs was talking about windows when glass teletype
displays were the only ones in existence.

As for buffers, I disagree that it's unused in the context used by
Emacs.  I've seen several editors that do the same.