Subject: Re: bug#36454: 26.2.90; feature request - Insert char by hex tab completion or C-x 8 RET ffe <TAB>

From: Sebastian Urban <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 15 Jul 2019 20:59:06 +0200

> There's no problem with allowing completion against both char names
> and hex code points.

Well I think there may be - how do you distinguish "ffe" as part of
hex code from Unicode name ("GIRAFFE FACE") or "20" as part of hex
code from Unicode name "EGYPTIAN HIEROGLYPH A020"?  With method 1. or
2., i.e. just typing name or hex code, you can't, and only one type of
completion can be made - Unicode name, because it's probably more
reasonable.  And this is why I proposed to make hex (or any other)
code completion available through 3rd method.

On the other hand, while TAB searches through names, maybe just write
"alternative TAB", that will search through hex codes, and bind it to,
for example, 'S-TAB'?

> FWIW - For Emacs 23-25, Icicles supports your #1 and #2.

So this libraries somehow can distinguish "ffe" as part of hex code
from part of Unicode name?

> ... 4th kind of completion: You can enter a Unicode char itself
> (...), and you see both its Unicode name and its code point.

Well, there is 'what-cursor-position' and 'describe-char'... also
I would rather see this behaviour with 'describe-char' in a form of
minibuffer prompt, just like 'describe-face/function/variable', where
you can insert char, type RET, and get the description.

The rest of you message is, I think, outside of my beginner scope of
knowledge, so I'm going to leave it alone.

Again, I just wanted to point a way out from "wontfix" to "maybe" for
this request, by proposing an idea of separating Unicode name
completion from code completion.  The former would be for methods 1st
and 2nd, and the latter would be for 3rd method.