Re: Current mode command discovery

[Eli Zaretskii]

> From: Lars Ingebrigtsen <larsi@gnus.org>
> Cc: emacs-devel@gnu.org
> Date: Tue, 16 Feb 2021 13:04:13 +0100
> 
> Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org> writes:
> 
> > So people are supposed to invoke that new theoretical command only
> > when they already know the command is from the current major mode?
> 
> I'm not sure I understand what you mean.
> 
> The question I asked is whether people would find it useful to have an
> M-x-like command that only lists commands that are specifically tagged
> as being applicable to the current buffer's modes.
> 
> It'd be a different way of getting an over for the mode-specific
> commands than `C-h m'.

"C-h m" shows the mode's keybindings, and is a "help" command.  That
"M-x-like command" you are talking about is NOT a help command, it's a
command that executes other commands.  Thus, to use this new command,
the user should know, up front, that he or she wants to _invoke_ some
command from the set of those applicable to the current modes.  I'm
wondering how will users know that.

By contrast, "C-h m" is typically invoked when users are looking for
information about the current mode, not because they necessarily want
to invoke some command.

> > I thought you wanted to modify how M-x works.  Isn't that what this
> > discussion was about?  Or is it _only_ about that new command?  Or
> > both?
> 
> This thread is only about this theoretical new command.

Then how about if we stop mentioning M-x in this thread?  It is
utterly confusing to mention M-x when we actually are talking about
something else.  Some of the suggestions voiced here made me nervous
because I thought people were suggesting changes in how M-x works; now
I'm relieved to learn that no change to M-x's MO was meant.