Re: [External] : Re: [WIP PATCH] Controlling Isearch from the minibuffer

[Kévin Le Gouguec]

Drew Adams <drew.adams@oracle.com> writes:

>> I don't know what impacts it might have on the UI, but I've often
>> wished (from an implementation point of view) that Isearch used
>> an actual plain old minibuffer rather than mimicking one
>
> Why?

(Speaking for myself, with only a cursory reading of this thread)

While isearching, I regularly find myself reaching for regular
navigation/editing commands (C-a, C-b, M-b, M-DEL… even C-x o, on
occasion), and tripping out of isearch.  This thread made me discover
M-e, but I doubt I'll use it much, since it takes the "i" out of
"isearch".

>From this user's candid[1] point of view, "controlling Isearch from the
minibuffer", as the subject says, sounds like an opportunity to have one
less ad-hoc UI.  Isearch already goes to some lengths to make it /look
like/ stuff is happening in a minibuffer[2], so I don't think it would
defy user expectations to actually use one.


[1] "Candid" as in, having no a priori opinion about the current,
    non-minibuffer implementation (aside from those minor grievances I
    just expressed); I can't tell what added value it brings, be it from
    a user's point of view or from a maintainer's.

[2] E.g. printing the user's keystrokes in the echo area where the
    minibuffer is by default, painting the prompt with
    isearch-message-properties ≡ minibuffer-prompt-properties…