On Tue, 19 Jun 2007 10:01:35 -0700, Xah Lee <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Here are some Frequently Asked Questions about The Modernization of > Emacs. > > They are slightly lengthy, so i've separated each item per post. The > whole article can be found at > > http://xahlee.org/emacs/modernization.html > ------------ > > Q: The Terminology “buffer” and “keybinding” is good as they are. > > A: The terminology “buffer” or “keybinding”, are technical terms > having to do with software programing. The term “keybinding” refers to > the association of a keystroke with a command in a technical, software > application programing context. That is to say, a programer “bind” a > keystroke to a command in a software application. The term “buffer” > refers to a abstract, temporary area for storing data, in the context > of programing or computer science. > > These terms are irrelevant to the users of a software application. > > As a user of a text editor, he works with files. The terms “opened > file” or “untitled file” are more appropriate than “buffer”.
No they are not. See you may have a real *file* on a disk somewhere, which is called 'opened file' or even 'untitled file'. Now isn't it confusing to think in terms of made-up descriptiors, just because the term 'buffer' seems alien? Educating the user to avoid confusion in this and other cases of made up, 'user-friendly' descriptions is not a good enough answer. If you can educate the user about this sort of fine distinction between files stored on a disk somewhere and files which are figments of the imagination of Emacs, then I can educate them about 'buffer' too and be done with it all. The main difference is that I get to do it today, without the need for multi-thousand-line changes in the source and documentation of Emacs and its thousands of plugins. -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list