Re: Emacs learning curve

[Stefan Monnier]

>> > The idea (for me anyway) is not to lure new users (I have given up
>> > the hope to understand what they need/want a lot time ago), but just
>> > to make Emacs better.  And following standards (be they protocols,
>> > libraries, terminology, behavior) is generally a good thing.  So the
>> > only reason not to follow standards is when we have a better story.
>> > In the case of yank/paste and point/cursor, I don't think our story
>> > is that much better: it's more a historical accident.
>> Wouldn't that be an argument to use window/pane too, instead of
>> frame/window?

I guess it would, yes.  I haven't heard the term "pane" used nearly as
much, but "windows" is obviously a problem.  So, same as for the others,
I'd be willing to entertain such a change, provided someone suggests
a patch.

> That was the first thing that came in my mind, too.  But in contrast to
> copy/cut/paste, current and "modern" names are not disjunctive, so there
> is no possibility to provide aliases for the old names.

I wouldn't jump to conclusion.  Rather than making backward
compatibility impossible (which means that it can't be done since
backward compatibility is an absolute requirement in this case), it just
means it's yet harder to come up with such a patch.

> One major problem I see with those modernization ideas is that it would
> make it even harder to write packages that work on all emacs flavours.

I'd expect the backward compatibility aliases to stick around for
a *long* time: take a look at the aliases for "screen rather than
frame", some of them are still with us (tho I think they deserve to
disappear now).


        Stefan