Re: [Beaver-devel] Patches

[Michael Terry]

Timothy J. Warren wrote:
> As for changing the "modified" status of new files: the default behavior
> of Beaver was to set a new file as modified, whether you had actually
> made any changes or not.  So, if you opened a blank document, then
> closed it without making any changes, it asked you if you wanted to save
> it.  I didn't think that was "good" behavior, so I removed it.  I'm
> sorry I didn't mention it with the patch submission.

I think the current behavior is more consistent with user expectations. 
 (I am responsible for the current code and didn't ask for concensus on 
the list, so now is a good time to debate it.)  To be clear, we are 
talking about creating a new file and having it start with a 
modified-buffer status.

The modified status is used to indicate any document buffer that is out 
of sync with the hard drive.  I think that documents that don't exist on 
the hard drive are out of sync.  Plus, this way you can open a new file 
and immediately save.

Often, text editors will not let you save a new file without first 
typing something (so if you want a blank file, you have to edit it and 
then delete the text, which is unintuitive).  If they do let you save a 
blank, new file, they often use a quasi-modified state (one that doesn't 
have any visible indication nor triggers the 
'are-you-sure-you-want-to-close' dialog but will let it be saved).  This 
is misleading to the user, since it breaks their trust in what the 
modified flag means.

The only disadvantage I can think of is that you will sometimes create a 
new file and not want to save it, thus being presented with a save 
dialog.  I think the consistency is worth this.

How do other people feel about this?

-mt