GNU bug report logs - #54081
Hitting C-b should not only say Begging of buffer, but also the name of the buffer...

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Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Marek Ľach <halcek <at> tutanota.com>
To: bug-gnu-emacs <at> gnu.org
Subject: Hitting C-b should not only say Begging of buffer, but also the
 name of the buffer...
Date: Sun, 20 Feb 2022 22:38:22 +0100 (CET)

[Message part 1 (text/plain, inline)]

 Currently, pressing the key combination Ctrl-b only states Beginning of buffer. But new users could benefit from also knowing quickly which buffer they are currently editing, so perhaps a phrase like: Beginning of buffer <buffername.extension>, such as: Beginning of buffer mygreatnovel.org could be more helpful to novices?

Just a suggestion,
All the best.

Halcek

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Message #8 received at 54081 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Lars Ingebrigtsen <larsi <at> gnus.org>
To: Marek Ľach <halcek <at> tutanota.com>
Cc: 54081 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#54081: Hitting C-b should not only say Begging of buffer,
 but also the name of the buffer...
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2022 15:17:18 +0100

Marek Ľach <halcek <at> tutanota.com> writes:

> Currently, pressing the key combination Ctrl-b only states Beginning of buffer. But
> new users could benefit from also knowing quickly which buffer they are currently
> editing, so perhaps a phrase like: Beginning of buffer <buffername.extension>,
> such as: Beginning of buffer mygreatnovel.org could be more helpful to novices?

We have lots of commands that signal errors like this, and I feel like
adding the buffer name to all of them could just be adding more
cognitive load to the user.  So I don't think we should do this, and I'm
closing this bug report.

-- 
(domestic pets only, the antidote for overdose, milk.)
   bloggy blog: http://lars.ingebrigtsen.no

Message #15 received at 54081 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Drew Adams <drew.adams <at> oracle.com>
To: Marek Ľach <halcek <at> tutanota.com>,
 "54081 <at> debbugs.gnu.org" <54081 <at> debbugs.gnu.org>
Subject: RE: [External] : bug#54081: Hitting C-b should not only say Begging
 of buffer, but also the name of the buffer...
Date: Mon, 21 Feb 2022 16:34:25 +0000

> ... only states Beginning of buffer.
> But new users could benefit from also knowing quickly
> which buffer they are currently editing, so perhaps a
> phrase like: Beginning of buffer <buffername.extension>,
> such as: Beginning of buffer mygreatnovel.org could be
> more helpful to novices?

Yes.  See also bug #48798.

https://debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/bugreport.cgi?bug=48798

Unfortunately closed as won't-fix, with the
reason given as "it's distracting, not useful 
information."

Such info can help, and not just novices.
At a minimum, it doesn't hurt.  Which buffer
is current is not always obvious, even when
one might think it is.

Message #18 received at 54081 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Richard Stallman <rms <at> gnu.org>
To: Marek Ľach <halcek <at> tutanota.com>
Cc: 54081 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#54081: Hitting C-b should not only say Begging of buffer,
 but also the name of the buffer...
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2022 00:13:38 -0500

[[[ To any NSA and FBI agents reading my email: please consider    ]]]
[[[ whether defending the US Constitution against all enemies,     ]]]
[[[ foreign or domestic, requires you to follow Snowden's example. ]]]

   > Currently, pressing the key combination Ctrl-b only states Beginning of buffer. But new users could benefit from also knowing quickly which buffer they are currently editing, so perhaps a phrase like: Beginning of buffer <buffername.extension>, such as: Beginning of buffer mygreatnovel.org could be more helpful to novices?

Is this really a significant problem for beginners?
Do they really get lost in that way?

Normally the buffer name appears in the mode line, which (in simple
cases) is just above the error message.  If you split the window, the mode
line of the selected window will not be so close to the error message;
but at that point you're probably not such a beginner any more.

-- 
Dr Richard Stallman (https://stallman.org)
Chief GNUisance of the GNU Project (https://gnu.org)
Founder, Free Software Foundation (https://fsf.org)
Internet Hall-of-Famer (https://internethalloffame.org)

Message #21 received at 54081 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Marek Ľach <halcek <at> tutanota.com>
To: 54081 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Date: Tue, 22 Feb 2022 17:03:57 +0100 (CET)

[Message part 1 (text/plain, inline)]

I should clarify, that I do not consider this a very important issue really, but rather a nice-to-have.

It is more of a suggestion for when the name of the buffer doesn’t yet appear in the MODE line, because it hasn’t been saved yet for example (like if a document is being created in a persistant buffer first, but not yet saved...) 
Which makes me think that I should have formulated the suggestion quite a bit better at the start: 

If hitting C-b Beggining of buffer, state it the buffer is not named too, like: Beggining of buffer. <Unknown name>. If the buffer is already saved/named, then perhaps state something like: Beginning of buffer. Saved as: mygreatnovel.org <http://mygreatnovel.org>

As such this functionality wouldn’t be for displaying the name of the buffer per-se, but for displaying the name of the buffer (or perhaps even informing the user about the lack of thereof?), only when certain actions with that buffer are performed, like saving/mamina, renaming/changing extension/switching mode etc...

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