Modes: major, minor, context specific

[Robert J. Chassell]

It turns out that the concept of `modes' provides a useful tool for
thinking about Emacs user interfaces:

    Major mode:  topic related mode,
                 such as whether you are reading email or editing Fortran

    Minor mode:  user-interface related mode, 
                 such as whether you want or do not want auto-fill,
                 provided at a less general level than the difference
                 between VI and Emacs

    Context Specific Minor mode:
                 a user-interface related mode for a particular region
                 that is different in some regular way
                 from the rest of the buffer, 
                 such as an entry for a table, a rectangle, or a
                 mathematical expression

The VI - Emacs difference: among other things, 
  an interface mode difference 
  that is so basic it is not called a difference in `modes':

  * VI presumes the user will write a fair amount in one go (say a
    paragraph or an expression) and then edit

  * Emacs presumes the user will edit every word or two