Re: basic question: going back to dired

[Phil Carmody]

Alan Mackenzie <acm@muc.de> writes:
> Hi, ???Xah!
>
> On Tue, Jul 22, 2008 at 01:44:27PM -0700, Xah wrote:
>> Hi all, instead of responding to each message in this thread, i
>> thought i just write one post.
>
>> ??? among the alternative terms for buffer: tabs, panel, window, work
>> space..., i think tabs is a good candidate.
>
> I think you mean "tab", the singular.  Why is "???tab" good.  Look up the
> word in a dictionary, and you'll find it's a bit of material or paper
> which sticks out so that you can hold of it easily.  Or it can mean a
> cigarette.  Do we really want to be manipulating sticky-out bits or
> cigarettes?
>
> "Buffer" means something which separates and smoothes interactions
> between things which would otherwise damage eachother; for example, the
> spring loaded pads on railway waggons which stop them jossling eachother
> too badly, or the "buffer zone" between two hostile countries which stop
> them killing eachother too much.  In Emacs, a buffer stops your changes
> being written directly onto hard disk sectors, so the name isn't too bad.

You might also have a savings account as a buffer to tide you
over. That's more of a pure storage connotation.

One of the *best* things about 'buffer' is that it's so nebulous.

Phil
-- 
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