Subject: Re: bug#63455: 30.0.50; display-buffer-in-direction is always resizing

From: Michael Heerdegen <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 24 May 2023 04:48:37 +0200

Juri Linkov <[email-masked]> writes:

> > I always found that naming confusing.  It makes me think of
> > `with-temp-buffer', helper buffers, not of *Help*.  Do you find the
> > naming appropriate, having the use cases in mind?
>
> According to (info "(emacs) Temporary Displays")
> maybe a better name would be "view-buffer" because
> it's intended for non-editable buffers.

Hmm - I think that name sounds a bit too general to me.

I don't know - it's all a bit messy.

`with-output-to-temp-buffer' displays the buffer.  That's also a bit
surprising.

(info "(elisp) Temporary Displays") says:

 -- User Option: temp-buffer-show-function
     If this variable is non-‘nil’, ‘with-output-to-temp-buffer’ calls
     it as a function to do the job of displaying a help buffer.
                                                    ^^^^
The name "temp" is everywhere.  And it is, in the context of buffer
display (in the wider sense), more or less synonymous with "help
buffer" (in the wider sense again).

If it's too late to change all of the related names, maybe we should
describe the naming habits more explicitly so that it is less confusing
and more discoverable.

Michael.