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Re: Does anyone use menus?


From: Floyd L. Davidson
Subject: Re: Does anyone use menus?
Date: Mon, 20 Jun 2005 10:57:48 -0800
User-agent: gnus 5.10.6/XEmacs 21.4.15/Linux 2.6.5

"roodwriter@core.com" <roodwriter@core.com> wrote:
>Dmitriy wrote:
>>
>> I am developing an IDE supporting a number of external plug-in editors
>> including vim. I am about to use no menus for emacs plug-in, because of
>> interference with IDE's own menu system. So I wonder if it would make
>> any problems for emacs users.

What value is an _external_ IDE for Emacs users... :-)

...

>The menu can be ...  a good crutch for
>new users who might be overwhelmed otherwise.

That hits the nail on the head, except for the "new users" part.
It's a crutch, period.  But of course the need filled by a
crutch and how much use it will get *changes* dramatically as a
user gains experience.  Crutches come in multiple styles...

Both the Emacs and XEmacs menus are set up by default for a very
new user.  There are menu options for commands that serious
users have long since had wired in thier fingers!  Which of
course makes the default menus a waste of space because they are
cluttered with what doesn't need to be there (unless of course
one is new to emacs, in which case they are probably great).

The solution, for a serious user, is to re-write the menus,
entirely.  (And perhaps the disbribution should consider having
a selection of two sets of menus, one for new users and one
for experienced users?)

On my (X)Emacs nothing that I can remember how to do is in a
menu (or bound to a function key either, for that matter).
Menus are *great*, for really useful commands or macros that,
while essential when needed, are so rarely used that I can't
remember how to use them.  A menu is just a quicker way to look
them up (compared to apropos, or reading other docs).

-- 
Floyd L. Davidson           <http://web.newsguy.com/floyd_davidson>
Ukpeagvik (Barrow, Alaska)                         floyd@barrow.com


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