Re: Rationale behind conversion of a nil prefix arg to numeric 1

[Florian v. Savigny]

  > This is really one of the first things that someone writing
  > a command learns. 

Oops. I must confess this did not happen in my case. I have written
commands in Elisp for about 15 years, and I although I was soon
familiar with there somehow being a "raw" prefix arg (meaning I often
read this term in passing), I nevertheless always thought C-u was
simply a way of passing a command a number. (I did not even know that
you can also pass prefix commands typing M-..)

  > It's really not a big deal.  It's a flexible feature and is
  > easy to learn.  Admittedly (like much in Emacs), if you have
  > not yet learned it, and you try to write a command that
  > takes advantage of a prefix arg, then you might be surprised
  > to learn it.  Your surprise should be a welcome one, as you
  > now know what you can do with it.

Absolutely, at least now. Your post has been a very enlightening
lecture indeed, as have the other explanatory posts. (I am wondering
why I never grasped it from the Elisp Manual, but I guess because you
have stated the whys and wherefores, it is much easier for me to store
in memory somewhere.)

Thanks very much to you all!

-- 

Florian von Savigny
Melanchthonstr. 41
33615 Bielefeld