Subject: bug#73172: [PATCH] Move to start of current header in diff-{file,hunk}-prev

From: Dmitry Gutov <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2024 23:46:00 +0300

On 19/09/2024 21:41, Spencer Baugh wrote:

>>> Also discussed here:
>>> https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/help-gnu-emacs/2024-08/msg00367.html
>>
>> Patch#1 seems unequivocally a good thing (easier code iteration)
> 
> BTW, if we want to go ahead and install that patch on its own, that
> would be fine with me.

I think we'll wait a week or so for somebody to protest, and install 
both if nobody does.

>> and patch#2 seems good on balance.
>>
>> It does introduce some backward incompatibility in rare cases where I
>> have probably internalized the current behavior already -- for example
>> in the vc-print-root-log output pressing 'p' while on the first line
>> somewhere between the initial '*' and the end of the date dings with
>> "No previous log message", and how will move to bol.
>>
>> But it might be more consistent anyway, given that the there is no
>> ding already if you start out inside the summary text.
> 
> Yes.  It's definitely a change in behavior.
> 
> But, if someone has internalized:
> 
>    diff-file-prev usually acts like "backward-sexp for files" (it moves
>    point to the start of the current file), except that if point is in
>    the header of the first file in the buffer then diff-file-prev does
>    nothing instead.
> 
> Then I think they'll be happy to be able to discard that knowledge
> in favor of:
> 
>    diff-file-prev always acts like "backward-sexp for files" (it moves
>    point to the start of the current file).
> 
> Especially because "does nothing in one weird corner case" is not useful
> or deliberate behavior (it's just a bug).

Yeah, probably.

It kind of indicated "no elements above" right away, which is a tad 
meaningful, but indeed I struggle to produce a scenario where that would 
make a big difference.