Re: Looking for universal completion with simple UI

[dont . spam . earl]

Drew - thanks for the response. Yes, Icicles is the most comprehensive package 
for completion I've found, particularly for the mini buffer. I found it 
especially helpful to read you explaining the philosophy here:
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/2100166/making-sense-out-of-emacs-completion-mode-choices

It appears Icicles is focused on mini-buffer completion though. Any tips for 
the various forms of in-buffer completion: searching, cycling through killed 
text, etc.?


On Sunday, October 5, 2014 8:28:54 PM UTC-7, Drew Adams wrote:
> > I'm posting to ask about a completion model I have in mind. Before I
> 
> > code it up myself I'm trying to find any packages that already
> 
> > implement most or all of this functionality.
> 
> > 
> 
> > The Emacs Wiki Category page for Completion lists packages for
> 
> > minibuffer completion and text completion:
> 
> > http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/CategoryCompletion
> 
> > 
> 
> > I want a package for completion both INSIDE and OUTSIDE of the
> 
> > minibuffer with a universal UI:
> 
> > - Minibuffer Input Completion:
> 
> >   - finding files
> 
> >   - switching buffers
> 
> >   - apropos for functions and variables
> 
> >   - and any other minibuffer history lists
> 
> > - Text Completion in a Buffer:
> 
> >   - code completion
> 
> >   - executables/commands at a comint prompt
> 
> >   - i-searching in the current buffer
> 
> >   - cycling through killed text for yanking
> 
> > 
> 
> > Further, I want to navigate via a couple "dimensions" of context,
> 
> > both historical (previous inputs I've entered), and alphabetical
> 
> > (previous and next alphabetically, as in files in a directory).
> 
> > 
> 
> > The UI model and keybindings for this might be as simple as:
> 
> > - show prefix candidates with TAB
> 
> > - show substring candidates with S-TAB
> 
> > - with candidates already shown, the second TAB/S-TAB would select
> 
> >   the first candidate
> 
> > - navigate candidates alphabetically with C-r, C-s
> 
> > - navigate candidates historically with C-p, C-n
> 
> > 
> 
> > Do any packages implement this already?
> 
> 
> 
> I think you will find that several packages support much or even
> 
> all of what you request.  Even vanilla Emacs supports much of it.
> 
> 
> 
> I can't speak for other packages (others will), but Icicles
> 
> supports pretty much all of what you mention.
> 
> 
> 
> Icicle features apply mainly to the minibuffer.
> 
> 
> 
> For in-buffer text (code) completion, whenever there are
> 
> multiple candidates matching the buffer text to be completed,
> 
> Icicles extends some vanilla commands to let you use its
> 
> minibuffer completion features (regexp or substring matching,
> 
> multiple-pattern matching, candidate sorting, cycling, etc.)
> 
> 
> 
> So for text completion, instead of cycling among multiple
> 
> candidates in place, Icicles uses the minibuffer and shows
> 
> the candidates in `*Completions*'.  When there is only one
> 
> candidate, text completion in Icicles reverts to vanilla,
> 
> in-place completion.
> 
> 
> 
> Apart from Emacs Lisp, Icicles offers nothing particular for
> 
> code completion that is language-specific.  But its completion
> 
> features are automatically available for any code-specific
> 
> completion that uses `completing-read'.
> 
> 
> 
> You can download Icicles from Emacs Wiki or MELPA, to try it.
> 
> http://www.emacswiki.org/Icicles