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Date:Mon Dec 7 12:16:04 1992 
Subject:Re: Modes for ved 
From:Andy Holyer 
Volume-ID:921207.06 

In article <Bysr1q.34o@cs.bham.ac.uk> axs@cs.bham.ac.uk (Aaron Sloman) writes:
>tmr@cs.bham.ac.uk (Tim Read) writes:
>
>> Organization: School of Computer Science, University of Birmingham, UK
>> Date: Sat, 5 Dec 1992 16:09:22 GMT
>>
>> One of the features I particularly like about emacs is its use of modes.  A
>> mode is the way that the editor defines the functionality of a buffer and
>> the associated set of key bindings that go along with it.
>
>I believe some HCI people argue that mode-less systems are best.

True, but the only *truly* modeless  system is one  which is unplugged
:-) The clever bit comes  in preventing the  users from realising this
fact.

>
>VED already has some of these modes determined by variables like
>vedbreak, vedindentstep, etc. and there's scope for matching them
>to file names using vedfiletypes (See HELP VEDFILETYPES)
>

The problem is, that in ved one has a  set of independent options, and
must hence set these variables independently  (of couse, one can write
ved_email_mode and put in in one's  vedinit.p,  but that's a different
thing. An emacs mode could  be considered to be a  binding of a set of
these   attribute settings, with the  addition  of such  things as key
bindings etc.
The power of emacs modes is that you have comething approaching
a  class hierachy  -  thus electric-c-mode  (which  does all  the neat
indenting for you without even having to press return) is a minor mode
of c-mode, which  itself is a  minor mode of....  all the way  down to
fundamental  mode. True, there's nothing  here which can't be done  in
ved: the point is, it *hasn't* been done in ved.


-- 
&ndy Holyer, School of Cognitive and     |Due to recent events in the USA,
Computing Studies, University of Sussex, |I find I can no longer use this
JANET: andyh@cogs.sussex.ac.uk           |.sig quote. Normal service will
                                         |be resumed when I find another one.