Re: Patch proposal: display symbol source code in help buffers

[Arthur Miller]

Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org> writes:

>> From: Gregor Zattler <telegraph@gmx.net>
>> Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2021 08:37:56 +0200
>> 
>> Lastly hitting the `s' key opens another buffer in another
>> window (at least for me) and (also at least for me), at
>> surprising locations in my frame.  I have a UHD monitor and,
>> at least the way I configured it, emacs opens up to 4
>> windows, the help buffer and the source buffer not
>> necessarily adjunct.  All 4 windows can carry 92 lines, so
>> there is plenty of room below the text in the help buffer to
>> show more info.
>
> But that window has the wrong mode for reading the source.  So it
> might be a good "selling point", but once you are past "the drums",
> using the display for seriously studying the source code is way less
> convenient and efficient than having the source pop in its own window.
> Right?

Yes and no. If you really wish to study the implementation, than you will open
the source file of course, maybe do some changes, eval your chanes and see the
effect, run some in debugger, and use more advanced tools. But there we speak
about serious study of a feture. Sometimes it is enough to just take a peek at
something. Even while working in some source file, I might prefer to show help
for a function from some other file and not to jump to that other file. It is
like a little source code browser, where one can browse between code for
symbols.

Also, not everybody knows how built-in buffer works, as Gregor mentioned, and if
one just wishes to take a quick look on the source, not switching the buffer
from working buffer is a nice feature. I think I wrote that one as a point in
the other answer to you.