Re: GNU Midnight Commander 4.6.2-pre1
On Fri, 28 Sep 2007, Pavel Tsekov wrote: Hello, Original-Nachricht Datum: Fri, 28 Sep 2007 22:51:05 +0200 Von: Oswald Buddenhagen Betreff: Re: GNU Midnight Commander 4.6.2-pre1 On Thu, Sep 27, 2007 at 11:01:27PM -0500, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: Notice the -- things in what I just copied? I can kindof see why this was introduced. Presumably, it is an indication that the TAB key has been used while the file from which I copied was being written. yes But I am not sure if this is a desirable feature, or not. it is Oswald, On what grounds? I said I can kindof see why this was introduced. You are saying it not only has some kind of logic behind it that I could kindof see but it is indeed a good idea. Why? If it is a good idea then there is no doubt a good explanation. Jesus, it is written, broke bread with the disciples, as did his forefathers with their families and guests. Nowadays, we chase the bread with a knife, or subject it to a slicing machine. We are more complicated and sophisticated and require lots more technology to deal with the bread. Does our bread taste better or is its nutritional content improved? Does this analogy fit? That is also a good question. I can easily think that, if I want to copy a block of C code from one file to another using the mouse, I would feel quite frustrated if this is what actually happens with every line where the tab key got used. just mark the text within mcedit before marking it with the mouse. Interesting. (Checking if this really works, or not ... yes it does ... ) Yes, interesting indeed. Is this documented anywhere? but yes, this needs a fix. ctrl-w was supposed to toggle this *temporarily*, just like ctrl-s toggles syntax highlighting (not temporarily, which is a bug, imo). more on this can be found in the respective patch tracker entry. Are these key combinations documented anywhere? I have looked rather carefully and I have not found any mention of them in the man page for mcedit, nor in the F1 help for mcedit, nor in the pulldown menus which the F1 help says to look at, nor in the Syntax file which users are encouraged in the F1 help to look at, nor in the c.syntax file in /usr/share/mc/syntax. Is the documentation in some other location which I should have checked? I'll fix these... I just need some time. I am trying to extract and describe all those changes that happened between 4.6.1 and the current cvs version. I am also trying to fix the copyright notices in all files. You can open an bug report in the tracker if you want... Pavel, I can understand your problems, as in a small way I have to deal with similar things occasionally, and I am not even one of the project leaders over at gphoto. So by all means take the appropriate time and get it all right. One never shoots at the piano player, because then the music stops. I will open a bug report if that is needed, so you can be the judge about that. Or Oswald could do it. As he was so kind as to answer my questions, he may be much more knowledgeable and closer to the MC project than I am. OTOH there is the perhaps deeper question about whether one is dealing with a bug or a feature, which is the focus of what follows. For, if it is a feature then it is no bug, though it still may be or may not be a feature in need of some improvement. I do have some (possibly naive) things to say about this, though, purely as a user. Perhaps someone with sufficient knowledge _and_ with the time to answer could address these things. Therefore, what follows is directed to the list, not to the maintainer and release manager who may be at this point up to his ass in alligators and not have time to think about much of anything at all except impending deadlines. 1. Perhaps the --- stuff for tabs is good. Me, I liked better the old syntax which used a red, colored bar but that I did not see except in a Makefile. I mean, there was no particular syntax construction to distinguish a tab or two from the repeated use of the spacebar if one was looking at a .c or .h file. And, yes, we know that indentations in a .c or .h file are to be done with the tab key and to do code indentations with the spacebar is considered as incorrect and bad practice. But since it is incorrect and bad practice to use the space bar, it would seem to me that very few people will do that (and sinners and ignoramuses will get caught and educated by the project manager the first time that they submit code, as happened to me a few years ago). So why is it exactly needed to put into an editor a special mark showing that the tab has been used? As I said, I can see why it might be thought a clever feature, but is it actually necessary? And if not necessary is it desirable? Mind, I do not have the answers nor claim to have the answers. I am merely asking the questions. I hope I am not stomping on the toes of someone, just by asking the
Re: GNU Midnight Commander 4.6.2-pre1
Pavel,
I have tested this release and it does seem to remedy the search bug in
the internal editor. Thanks.
I do have one other question, though. You noticed, probably, that I tried
just now to answer someone's question about how to use the extension file
in MC. I hope I answered his question, but here is one of my own, given
rise to by what I just sent to the other gentleman.
To write my reply to him I mouse-copied something from another window.
Here is the actual result of the mouse-copying, which I edited afterward
to make it look decent.
include/image
#-Open=if [ $DISPLAY = ]; then zgv %f; else (gqview %f ); fi
--Open=if [ $DISPLAY = ]; then zgv %f; else (/usr/bin/display
%f );
#-Open=display %f.
--View=%view{ascii} identify %f
--#View=%view{ascii} asciiview %f
Notice the -- things in what I just copied? Well, I edited them out
in the other letter, just now.
I can kindof see why this was introduced. Presumably, it is an indication
that the TAB key has been used while the file from which I copied was
being written. But I am not sure if this is a desirable feature, or not. I
can easily think that, if I want to copy a block of C code from one file
to another using the mouse, I would feel quite frustrated if this is what
actually happens with every line where the tab key got used.
Another example follows, an excerpt from
libgphoto2/camlibs/digigr8/library.c opened with F3 (view)
{Vivitar Vivicam35, GP_DRIVER_STATUS_EXPERIMENTAL, 0x2770,
0x905c},
{Praktica Slimpix,GP_DRIVER_STATUS_EXPERIMENTAL, 0x2770,
0x905c},
{ZINA Mini Digital Keychain Camera,
GP_DRIVER_STATUS_EXPERIMENTAL,
0x2770,
0x905c},
{Pixie Princess Jelly-Soft,GP_DRIVER_STATUS_EXPERIMENTAL,
0x2770,
0x905c},
{Disney pix micro,GP_DRIVER_STATUS_EXPERIMENTAL, 0x2770,
0x9050},
{Suprema Digital Keychain Camera,
GP_DRIVER_STATUS_EXPERIMENTAL,
0x2770,
0x913d},
OK, I was viewing the file, not editing it, so it seems that all worked as
it should. Now I open the same file with F4 and copy approximately the
same lines...
--{Nexxtech Mini Digital Camera, GP_DRIVER_STATUS_EXPERIMENTAL,
0x2770,.
--0x905c},
{Vivitar Vivicam35, GP_DRIVER_STATUS_EXPERIMENTAL, 0x2770,
0x905c},
{Praktica Slimpix,GP_DRIVER_STATUS_EXPERIMENTAL, 0x2770,
0x905c},
{ZINA Mini Digital Keychain Camera,
GP_DRIVER_STATUS_EXPERIMENTAL,.
--0x2770,
0x905c},
{Pixie Princess Jelly-Soft,GP_DRIVER_STATUS_EXPERIMENTAL,.
--0x2770,
0x905c},
{Disney pix micro,GP_DRIVER_STATUS_EXPERIMENTAL, 0x2770,
0x9050},.
{Suprema Digital Keychain Camera,
GP_DRIVER_STATUS_EXPERIMENTAL,.
0x2770,
0x913d},
--{NULL,0,0,0}
You see what I mean? Ouch. If this were a real piece of C code I would
really be having fun now, wouldn't I?
I guess there are times when it might be nice to have this as a feature. I
can not think of any, but I am sure that somebody thought it is a good
idea. So it would be really nice if there is a way to turn this on or off
at will. Or, maybe, it was not such a good idea in the first place. It
must be in some syntax file, but which and where?
Incidentally, I must also say that I am not sure where this all came from.
I was previously using the standard Slack 12.0 package called
mc-4.6.1_20070309-i486-2.tgz
which had the search bug in it.
Another place I saw a dramatic difference was in looking at a Makefile.
One used to see there a bar of red if a line started with a tab. Now, it
is the -- thing again. So it looks weird if one was accustomed
to the other way. And, again, to copy with the mouse leads to
funny-looking things happening which it seems to me ought not to happen.
Comments? Suggestions?
Theodore Kilgore
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