Subject: Re: bug#46469: 27.1; `isearch-del-char' should move point further back

From: Augusto Stoffel <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 13 Feb 2021 08:32:42 +0100

On Sat, 13 Feb 2021 at 09:04, Eli Zaretskii <[email-masked]> wrote:

> For isearch-del-char, I think what you see is the intended behavior:
> that command doesn't undo the effect of the last character you type at
> the I-search prompt, it just removes the last character of the search
> string.  So it isn't supposed to move point back to where the search
> started.  What you wanted to happen is what isearch-delete-char does.
>
> OK?

No, isearch-delete-char is a misnamed command.  It undoes the last
isearch command, which is typically inserting a character OR going to
the next/previous match.  If you type ‘C-s y C-s DEL’ in emacs -q, the
search string is still y.

I frankly think DEL should be isearch-del-char by default.  I never got
used to isearch-delete-char in many years before finding out about
isearch-del-char.  But that's besides the point.

As to why the patched version of isearch-delete-char is the "expected"
or more useful one: this is to a degree a matter of taste, but I can
give my reasons if you are still not convinced.

Best,
Augusto