bug#53255: [External] : bug#53255: highlight-regexp should show faces with their properties applied when selecting a face

[Drew Adams]

> > The patch below implements this, but it does lead to some strange
> > effects:
> >
> > That is, some faces have odd sizes, so the completion display may look a
> > bit odd.
> 
> In addition to the odd sizes, some face names become completely
> unreadable (e.g. the ansi-color-* ones).
>
> > But it does accurately tell you what the result is doing to be, so
> > perhaps it's OK?  Anybody have any opinions?
> 
> Maybe using an affixation function (like read-char-by-name) would make
> things less jarring?  E.g. fontifying the same string for every face
> (say "x" or "example") and using that as suffix (rather than prefix, to
> keep the face names aligned)?
> 
> At any rate, I do think that showing the actual sizes (and colors,
> however unreadable) is a good feature to keep.

Yes.

15 years of practice (with Icicles) says this
enhancement request can be made to work well.

The key is to give users (and their code) the
control.  It's perfectly possible to have the
face etc. name itself be shown without any face
property, but to be accompanied by a swatch
that shows the appearance.

I assume that's what you meant by referring to
`read-char-by-name'.

See the screen shots I linked to in my previous
message.  Give users 3 ways to show candidates
that determine colors, fonts, and faces:

 * No sample - just the plain candidate name
 * Candidate name shown as sample
 * Candidate name shown next to sample (swatch)