Re: Transient Mark Mode on by default

[Mike Mattie]

On Tue, 01 Apr 2008 02:14:01 +0200
Sebastian Rose <address@hidden> wrote:

> Alan Mackenzie <address@hidden> writes:
> > To see this confusion, just peruse this sentence from the page
> > "Transient Mark" in the Emacs Manual:
> >
> >        If the variable `mark-even-if-inactive' is non-`nil' in
> > Transient Mark mode, then commands can use the mark and the region
> > even when it is inactive.
> 
> ...and the rest of the truth is the documentation for `mark':
> 
>        mark
>          Function: Return this buffer's mark value as integer, or nil
> if never set.
> 
>        In Transient Mark mode, this function signals an error if
>        the mark is not active.  However, if `mark-even-if-inactive'
> is non-nil, or the argument FORCE is non-nil, it disregards whether
> the mark is active, and returns an integer or nil in the usual way.
> 
>        If you are using this in an editing command, you are most
> likely making a mistake; see the documentation of `set-mark'.
> 
> Here is, where the former words get their sence.
> 
> 
> 
> > In truth, T-M-M is a ragbag of features arbitrarily conflated into a
> > single option: There's (i) region highlighting; (ii) a variant of
> > narrowing, for certain commands; (iii) disabling the mark.
> > Anything else I've missed?
> 
> 
> Maybe using transient-mark-mode and have some commands narrowing to
> the region ;) This is something I use all the time. Having
> replace-string replacing from point to end of buffer is useless in
> many cases. And if I wont to do that, I just don't create a region.
> Here TMM adds an editing feature to emacs, IMHO.
> 
> 
> 
> > Yet to get this wider audience, what this wider audience is getting
> > is getting less and less like Emacs.
> 
> 
> They're getting TMM since I use emacs. And since then I have to turn
> TMM on, if I want to use it. This was never a propblem.
> 
> 
> > As somebody who prizes simplicity, clarity and logical cohesion,
> > making this psuedo-T-M-M default fills me with revulsion.  There's
> > got to be better ways of attracting new users.
> 
> 
> I don't care about defaults at all as long they don't change all the
> time. But I think TMM is somewhat underestimated here.
> 
> Visualization is what attracs users today. Make the application think
> for me makes it a usefull tool. There are about 7 registers in short
> time memory in an avarage brain. I rember the point and the mark even
> after a 2 hours phone call if the region is highlighted. And *ploink*
> remember why.
> 
> right-click to create a highlighted region, and by more right clicks
> on any end of that region resize it (this could not be done without
> highlighting). Or cut the region by double-right-click (and inserting
> by middle-click as usual). Very convinient in some cases.

I refute: swap point and mark can do that. highlighting has nothing to
do with it. (swap, move)+ works. You did get closer to the one legit
scenario for highlighting when setting a bound. Hint: the mouse's resolution
is beyond that of the character cell.

> 
> 
> 
> Regards,
> 
>     Sebastian
> 
> 
>

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