GNU bug report logs - #39359
[patch] TUTORIAL: Be accurate about "buffer" vs "file"; capitalize Dired. Four other trivial TUTORIAL patches

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Message #8 received at 39359 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>
To: "Jorge" <jorge+list <at> disroot.org>
Cc: 39359 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#39359: [patch] TUTORIAL: Be accurate about "buffer" vs "file"; 
 capitalize Dired.  Four other trivial TUTORIAL patches
Date: Fri, 31 Jan 2020 11:29:09 +0200

> Date: Thu, 30 Jan 2020 15:41:48 +0000
> From: "Jorge" <jorge+list <at> disroot.org>
> 
> Hello.  This trivial patch is my first patch submitted to a free
> software project (not counting wiki edits), so please do not hesitate to
> correct any mistakes (including the potential mistake of being too
> nitpicky).  Now the commit message, followed by the patch:
> 
> TUTORIAL: Be accurate about "buffer" vs "file"; capitalize Dired
> 
> - Disambiguate "buffer" vs "file" after the section that explains
>   buffers.

Thanks.

Personally, my gut feeling is that we shouldn't introduce this
complexity in the tutorial.  Users coming from other editors are used
to saying "save the file" (and the evidence is the File->Save menu
item present in many applications, including Emacs).  So "save file"
is natural, whereas "save buffer into the file it visits" is less so,
and for newbies any complication at this stage is an obstacle.  It is
no accident that buffers are described in the tutorial only after
files.  (This is yet another reason why introducing buffers before
they are described in the tutorial might be a step in the wrong
direction.)

Bottom line: I think in this case accuracy is less important than
providing an introduction to Emacs usage that is as free from
complexities as practically possible.

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