Re: draft for DEL key poll

[Chong Yidong]

Richard Stallman <address@hidden> writes:

> In Emacs 24, now in pretest, a change is being considered for DEL
> (often the Backspace key) and the Delete function key.  When there is
> an active region, they would delete the region instead of just one
> character.  This is enabled by default in the current pretest, so
> building and using the pretest is a way to test it.

This description fails to explain the underlying logic behind the
change.

If an active region is made with the mouse, and with shift-selection,
the DEL key deletes it.  This behavior is non-negotiable as a default,
as it is the standard behavior of graphical applications on modern GUI
platforms and there is no good reason for Emacs to violate it.

Some Emacs commands perform a certain operation on the region when it is
active.  In general, this "act on region" behavior does not draw a
distinction between a region made with the mouse (or shift-selection)
and a region made "normally" (e.g. by C-SPC followed by point motion).
In previous Emacs releases, a special exception was made for the DEL and
delete keys.  This exception has now been dropped.

Anyone who argues that DEL ought not to delete a "normal" active region
should provide a convincing explanation of why DEL should be treated
differently from other Emacs commands that act on active regions.