Re: why `view-lossage' is called so?

[Bob Nelson]

drf5n@mug.sys.virginia.edu wrote:
> On 26 Apr 2003, [iso-8859-2] Janusz S. Bie? wrote:

>> The Free On-line Dictionary of Computing (06 Jun 01) says:
>>
>> lossage
> ...
>>
>> I see no relation between the meaning of the word and the results of
>> `view-lossage' commands.

> I think of it as more of a lossage-recovery tool:  If you need to
> view-lossage, you've probably experienced an unexpected lossage.  It might
> make better sense named as 'view-keyboard-log' or 'view-keystroke-log',
> but I've always had a hard time guessing the right keywords for emacs
> commands.

Cleverness (or outright obscurity) often prevails over clarity when it
comes to Emacs naming conventions. A few examples come to mind:

            hippie-expand
            comint
            ange-ftp

- If you search long enough, hard enough and deep enough, there's some
  rationale for the naming convention employed by Emacs. Getting to know
  the relationship between the names and the functionality afforded is
  probably a ``rite of passage'' for a user to have any hope of entering the
  exalted sect in RMS' church of Emacs.

-- 
===============================================================================
           Bob Nelson -- Dallas, Texas, USA (nelsonbe@earthlink.net)
          http://www.oldradio.com/archives/nelson/open-computing.html
Good engineering is just finding the right wrench to pound in the correct screw