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Re: How to get rid of *GNU Emacs* buffer on start-up?


From: Xah Lee
Subject: Re: How to get rid of *GNU Emacs* buffer on start-up?
Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2008 08:36:58 -0700 (PDT)
User-agent: G2/1.0

xraysmalev...@gmail.com wrote:

> > > Emacs provides a user level function to create a new buffer. C-x b,
> > > and enter a name of a non-existing buffer.
> > >...
> > > And if I close it without saving,
> > > Emacs prompts me gently -- it doesn't demand a filename, it asks if I
> > > want to save it. And only then, if I say yes, does it prompt for a
> > > filename. How polite.

Xah wrote:
> > what you reported doesn't seems to be the emacs behavior for me.
>
> > For example:
>
> > Type C-x b xyz RET to create a new buffer named xyz.
>
> > Type something in it.
>
> > Now type M-x kill-buffer RET. The buffer will be killed with all
> > content lost.

xraysmalev...@gmail.com wrote:
> I stand corrected: it doesn't prompt to save, since it was never a
> file to begin with. I guess I'm just in the habit of saving when I
> want to.

Thanks for the correction.

> Nevertheless, the original point was that Emacs DOES provide
> a user-level function to create a new buffer. And it also allows you
> to save that buffer as a file -- if you wish.

I don't agree that emacs does provide a user-level function for
creating a new buffer. The 2 practical methods to create a new buffer,
by find-file or switch-to-buffer, are both not designed to create a
new buffer for temp use, and each has serious problems in my opinion.

• There is no easy, intuitive way to create multiple scratch buffers.
(it is done by using the switch-to-buffer command (C-x b) and give
name that is not one of existing buffers.)

• Emacs does not provide a user level function to create a new buffer.
It has “Open file...” (a wrapper to the find-file command), which
immediately prompt user for a full file path. This is annoying. Modern
apps's New File command actually just create a new untitled file
without prompting, and only when user save it it prompt a file name.
If user closes it, it prompts for saving.

In summary: the problem with find-file is that it promps user to enter
a file name upfront. The problem with switch-to-buffer is that it
doesn't promp to save when user closes it. In both, the functions are
simply not designed for creating a new temp buffer.

-------------------------

But now suppose for a moment that find-file and switch-to-buffer are
very good for creating temp buffers. Isn't that more reason to get rid
of “*scratch*”?

original article  http://xahlee.org/emacs/modernization_scratch_buffer.html

  Xah
∑ http://xahlee.org/

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