RE: Selection changes in revno 100822

[Drew Adams]

> Here is a summary of the current scheme:

First, thanks for this summary.  It doesn't seem complete, but it is a start,
helping us understand what is being proposed.

>   1. Each time the mark is deactivated, the selected text is added to
>   the primary selection.  If deactivation occurs as a result 
>   of a buffer modification, the text that is added is the text in
>   the region prior to the modification.
> 
>   2. If the region is temporarily active after a command (e.g. after a
>   mouse drag or shift selection), the selected text is added to the
>   primary selection, even if the mark is not deactivated.
> 
>   3. If you deactivate the mark with C-g, the selected text 
>   is not added to the primary selection.
> 
>   4. Any kill command sets clipboard in addition to the kill-ring; any
>   yank command inserts the clipboard contents, if possible
>   (x-select-enable-clipboard).
> 
>   5. mouse-2 yanks primary.

You don't say here whether selecting using the mouse copies to the kill-ring.  

And you don't say whether C-y after selecting with the mouse yanks what was
selected.

> if you mark a region with C-SPC and do C-w, you won't be able
> to paste the text in with mouse-2, unlike earlier Emacs versions.

My primary concern right now (because it is what I use most now) is the behavior
on Windows, but I do care also about the behavior on other platforms.

And I'm curious.  What is the rationale for such behavior (C-w followed by
mouse-2 will prevent it from yanking what was killed)?

Apparently C-SPC plus motion to select, followed by mouse-2, does yank what was
selected (good), but if you use C-w (or M-w, for that matter) before clicking
mouse-2 then nothing is yanked (bad).

Do people really feel it is convenient to _not_ be able to use mouse-2 to yank
the front of the kill ring?

Sounds like we'd be giving up some convenient Emacs copy+yank behavior.  What's
the upside to compensate for the loss?  What would users gain by this change?

I really don't understand what is going on (why).  Is this all just about
limiting Emacs to make it more like other apps on X?

If so, then please tell us more about what we will gain in Emacs, besides
standardization/compatibility?  I've always found Emacs copy/kill/yank to be
superior to what I've seen elsewhere, in which case standardization would mean a
downgrade.  But I'm no expert on this.  Please tell us what good we'll be
getting.

AFAICS we haven't yet gotten a simple description of the proposed changes, in
terms of how they will affect users: use cases, pros & cons, what will change
and why.