On Tue, Apr 13, 2004 at 03:32:32PM +0100, Angus Leeming wrote: > I think so. Here's why. > > The command buffer performs two roles: > 1. It provides us with state information. (All those useful 'Running > latex' etc messages.) > 2. It gives us a means to enter lfuns from 'by hand'. > > The xforms frontend follows emacs by incorporating both > functionalities in a single bar. The Qt frontend, on the other hand, > has separate widgets (and bars) for each.
In case anyone's interested, the rationale is simple - nobody* knew that you could type into the minibuffer. This was partly due to visual decoration in the xforms frontend, and partly due to its "status bar" behaviour. And once we've separated the two, there's little argument for taking up vertical space by default for something that is difficult to use, essentially undocumented, and only used by a few people. regards, john
