bug#24612: 26.0.50; calc: insertion/deletion of chars not at point in calc minibuffer

[Lars Ingebrigtsen]

Tino Calancha <tino.calancha@gmail.com> writes:

> It is very counter-intuitive how to modify things in the calc minibuffer.
> Insertions and deletions are respect to the digit in the right hand side.
> You can set the point before any digit, but <backspace> will always delete
> the last one.
>
> emacs -Q
>
> M-x calc RET
> 9123
> I) C-a C-d ; Delete 3 instead of 9, number:912
> II) C-b C-b; Point is right after 9.
> III) <backspace> ; Delete 2 instead of 9, number: 91
> IV) C-a 8 ; Number: 918 instead of 891.

Yes, that's supremely confusing.  I don't think anything else in Emacs
works this way?

> I find easier if the behaviour is as follows:
> M-x calc RET
> 9123
> I) C-a C-d ; number: 123
> II) C-e C-b ; Point is right after 2.
> III) <backspace> ; number: 13
> IV) C-a 8 ; number: 813

I think I) here sounds a bit unusual, too.  Wouldn't it be better if
that just gave an error as normal?

But, anyway, I'm guessing this behavior is on purpose.  I'm not a calc
user, but is there anybody here who are?  And are attached to the
current way this works?  

-- 
(domestic pets only, the antidote for overdose, milk.)
   bloggy blog: http://lars.ingebrigtsen.no