Re: python-mode (python.el): python-backspace

[Dave Love]

Richard Stallman <address@hidden> writes:

> It is not a good thing for a major mode to redefine DEL or Backspace
> so drastically,

I don't think it's very drastic, else I'd probably agree.  It's a
refinement of what many modes do anyway in redefining DEL, and I think
most people editing Python would think it just DTRT (more-or-less).

Apparently it's broken, but the intention is that it deletes a level
of indentation backwards iff it's at the end of indentation.  That
(probably) keeps the source syntactically correct, as opposed to what
the the default binding would do for indent steps >1.

Note that the indentation is actually part of the syntax in Python and
it has to match the start of a block to be syntactically correct.
[It's similar to, but not the same as Landin's `offside' rule, if that
means anything.]

> because that breaks a general convention that is supposed
> to be universal in Emacs.  It is ok to have an option to do this,
> but it should not be the default.
>
> The default should be to delete one character backwards,
> one way or another.

Programming modes typically use `backward-delete-char-untabify', not
`delete-backward-char', though some bind it to something different.