Re: PROPOSAL: Repurpose one key and reserve it for third-party packages

[Philip Kaludercic]

Gregory Heytings <gregory@heytings.org> writes:

>> My reading of the guideline on "C-c LETTER" is that a major/minor
>> mode shouldn't bind C-c LETTER to a command, so that it overshadows
>> whatever is bound globally to C-c LETTER. But a system like what I
>> propose just generates to configuration *for* the user, in a user
>> file in which case the guideline doesn't apply. That's what I mean
>> by avoiding the need for an extra key-space.
>>
>
> I'm not sure your interpetation of that guideline ("Don't define 'C-c
> LETTER' as a key in Lisp programs") is correct, but now at least I see 
> what you mean: you're more or less cheating the guideline by
> generating a configuration file, after asking the user if they're okay
> with that, instead of binding the key directly in the package
> depending on the value of a configuration variable.  To me what you
> propose looks pretty close to using customize to set a
> foobar-set-global-binding variable that would be used in a call to
> global-set-key.

Yes, that could also be done, the precise code that is generated is an
open question

> And that doesn't solve the problem that 26 letter keys is a small
> number. Yes, you can also use capital letters, and yes, you can put
> keymaps on these 26 letters instead of single commands.  IMO, that
> can't work as a long-term solution; if it were, it would already be
> used, and the fact is that it isn't, and that third-party packages
> prefer to use, or recommend to use, keys that are not yet bound by
> Emacs.

You could use C-c LETTER as a fallback, and suggest more convenient keys
first, that are usually unbound. But even considering that, what do you
think that the long-term issue is? Do you think that with time, people
will be using more and more packages that need global keys?

-- 
        Philip K.

signature.asc
Description: PGP signature