Re: Honoring traditional defaults - how to do it. [was: Transient MarkMode on bydefault]

[Alan Mackenzie]

Hi, Drew!

On Tue, Mar 25, 2008 at 03:26:57PM -0700, Drew Adams wrote:
> > I think all these things can be achieved with a simple alias:

> >     % alias emacs_easy='emacs --load /path/to/lisp/emacs-easy.el'

> > .  emacs-easy.el, besides setting up the "easy" defaults, 
> > should display a startup screen with a message something like...

> _None_ of the things I mentioned can be achieved that way, AFAICT.

Can't they?  I think they can.

> The point was to provide one or more predefined sets of preference
> (e.g. option and face) settings, and let users easily pick such a set
> from a menu. The default Emacs behavior would be one such set. The
> choice would be persistent via custom-file/.emacs: the chosen set (name
> and value) would itself be the value of a user option.

If the users are beginners, "easily" and "pick from a menu" are mutually
exclusive.  I think my idea could supplement (rather than replace) optons
in a menu.  Extending it a little, the following aliases could all be
defined:

emacs_easy
emacs_fruit         # for an angry fruit salad set of faces
emacs_1934          # for a "classic" set of options
emacs_2001          # to resemble Emacs-21, as far as possible.
emacs_CUA           # for those who love what I hate.

> I don't see how any of that would be realized by an alias and a message that
> tells users they can customize Emacs. 

Why not?  Any option setting can go into emacs-easy.el.  The idea of the
message is not to patronise the users (they already known Emacs can be
customised), but to prod them as gently as possible into using the most
standard, sleekest, puristest, most efficient configuration.

My aim is to soften the painful dilemma we face, that of chosing our
default configuration as either "comfortable for newbies" (when they'll
never get to become power users) or "lean and mean" (when too many of the
newbies will give Emacs up before becoming proficient).

-- 
Alan Mackenzie (Nuremberg, Germany).