Re: Patch to disable links line in *info* buffer

[Richard Stallman]

    Instead of remaking a buffer so it has two parts, only one of which is
    a window,

We seem to be miscommunicating--that is not what I had in mind:

   ... I wonder--would it be useful if the header line displayed at
   the top of a window were part of the buffer text, rather than a
   feature like the mode line?

I am talking about a new display feature for how to display the text
in the buffer.  This does not mean the buffer has "two parts".

              the `buffers all the way' idea is to make every window
    within a frame be a buffer of some sort: tool bar, menu bar, mode
    lines, fringes, scroll bars, Info header lines, and the windows
    themselves.

This is the other idea I proposed, and I still think it is an elegant
approach if we can do it.  Handling scroll bars this way might be
quite difficult, and I think it is fine for them to stay as they are.
I don't think we should try to handle fringes this way.  But it might
make sense to handle the tool bar, menu bar, mode lines and header
lines this way.

    A mode-line would be a buffer with these default characteristics:

        not-copy-able
        not-write-able
        dependent on another buffer

This would be done by updating its contents within redisplay.
We would do that in the places that now redisplay the mode line.

        always display when other buffer shows
        always below the other buffer
        one line high, same width as its parent

These three are actually a matter of setting up the window structure.
Most of the work, to change this, would be about how the window structure
is set up and what features it provides.

        a specified set of fonts and faces
        containing special information, such as name of buffer

This would be done by updating its contents within redisplay.
We would do that in the places that now redisplay the mode line.