Re: M-\ does not work with prefix argument as documented

[Dieter Wilhelm]

Kevin Rodgers <address@hidden> writes:

> Dieter Wilhelm wrote:
>> Hi 
>>
>> emacs -Q -D
>>
>> Insert a line like the following:
>>
>> otto      foo
>>        ^
>>
>> Place the cursor approximately where the accent is.  Type M-- M-\ and
>> all white space is deleted instead of only the one on the left hand
>> side.
>
> Neither the Emacs manual nor the delete-horizontal-space's doc string
> says anything about how prefix args are handled.  But it seems like a

You're right, I interpreted the documentation in this way because I
wanted M-\ to work also with a prefix argument.  My notion was that a
numeric argument to an interactive function means implicitly that a
prefix argument must be working as well.  The next time I'll be
looking out for the word prefix.

Thank you for installing your patch. (You did install it, didn't you?)

>
>> Could you, please, also make the command symmetric? For example
>> negative arguments are killing on the left hand side of the point and
>> positive arguments on the left hand side.  The default would remain as
>> is.  (There was recently a request--unrelated to M-\--for such a
>> feature on gnu.emacs.help, killing white space left or right of the
>> cursor).
>
> That would be cool.

8-), OK, I'll have a go at it.  But probably only after the release.

What I need to know is how could I distinguish in the function whether
the user gave a prefix argument '1' or whether it was the default
argument '1'?  The default argument would mean kill on both sides, the
same numerical value would mean just kill to the right.  Is it
possible to intercept the argument before the (interactive "*p") form
is evaluated?  

-- 
    Best wishes

    H. Dieter Wilhelm
    Darmstadt, Germany