Re: When should we put @key inside @kbd?

[Michael Albinus]

Richard Stallman <address@hidden> writes:

>   > I don't believe that @key is always for keyboard input. It is "the
>   > conventional name for a key on a keyboard" (quoted from the texinfo
>   > manual). That means, it is not bound to any input, typed on the
>   > keyboard first hand.
>
> For purposes of using software, the only useful thing you can do with
> a keyboard key is press it and input the character.  You can do other
> things with it, such as gaze at it lovingly, caress it, kiss it, or
> clean it, but there is no point mentioning those uses in a manual.
>
> Thus, in effect any reference to a key in a manual is about
> entering the key as input.

I agree, that the @key{} command in the texinfo manual has been defined
as "conventional name for a key on a keyboard". But in practice, for
example in the Emacs manual, @key{} is also used for characters which
are entered by the corresponding key.

I gave the example from the Emacs manual:

"@code{esc-map} is for characters that follow @key{ESC}."

Obviously, @key{ESC} here is not a key to be typed, but the escape
character. How else should this be written?

Best regards, Michael.