Re: Will default key bindings spell the death of Emacs?

[Tak Ota]

Thu, 29 May 2003 17:47:28 -0400: Miles Bader <address@hidden> wrote:

> On Thu, May 29, 2003 at 10:57:06PM +0200, Lars Hansen wrote:
> > Yes, it is a large task to implement a possibility to completely change
> > keymappings of Emacs, but never the less, IMHO it is the right thing to do.
> > And it could be done in small steps if we lay out a strategy.
> 
> No it's a completely silly thing to do (or even waste time arguing about).

I agree with Miles.  It is silly to change the standard emacs binding
because for example C-n is not simply bound to next-line but it is
bound to the concept or notion "next" so that some other package also
binds C-n to a function that intuitively matches to the notion "next",
which may not necessarily perform next-line.  Sometimes ?n is also
bound to "next".

But at the same time I also sympathize with what Lars and others are
pointing out.

Is it worth considering as a long term development item to introduce a
notion layer between key sequence and function?  Each mode package
binds a notion to a function instead of a key sequence to a function
in its local map.  The key sequence to notion binding is defined
elsewhere.  This way if a user binds some other key sequence than C-n
to "next" it applies to entire emacs living environment including but
not limited to next-line.

This idea of notion layer is interesting and easy to say but actual
implementation work is unimaginably enormous because it involves all
lisp libraries.  I am not so positive if it is really worth daring.

-Tak