GNU bug report logs - #79470
[PATCH] backward-sentence: Fix inaccuracy in manual's description

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From: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>
To: ERIC Frederickson <ericfrederickson68 <at> gmail.com>
Cc: 79470 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: bug#79470: [PATCH] backward-sentence: Fix inaccuracy in manual's description
Date: Fri, 19 Sep 2025 09:14:25 +0300

> From: ERIC Frederickson <ericfrederickson68 <at> gmail.com>
> Date: Thu, 18 Sep 2025 23:16:23 -0500
> 
> The patch attached to this message corrects a small inaccuracy in the
> description of the 'backward-sentence' command in
> doc/emacs/text.texi (Sentences).
> 
> When describing the behavior of 'backward-sentence', the manual states
> that this command leaves point "just before the first character of the
> sentence".  This is incorrect, as 'backward-sentence' actually leaves
> point _on_ the first character of the sentence.

In Emacs, point cannot be _on_ a character, it is always _between_ two
characters.  The Emacs user manual says:

     By default, the cursor in the selected window is drawn as a solid
  block and appears to be _on_ a character, but you should think of point
  as _between_ two characters; it is situated _before_ the character under
  the cursor.  For example, if your text looks like ‘frob’ with the cursor
  over the ‘b’, then point is between the ‘o’ and the ‘b’.  If you insert
  the character ‘!’ at that position, the result is ‘fro!b’, with point
  between the ‘!’ and the ‘b’.  Thus, the cursor remains over the ‘b’, as
  before.

So you should understand the "before the first character" part of what
the manual says in this context.

So I don't think what the manual says is inaccurate.

> Also: I hope that I'm not cluttering the mailing list with too many
> small patches sent close together.  I've happened to have a good deal
> of free time this week and have been enjoying trying to make some
> improvements to my favorite program.  If anything I've been doing
> lately has been causing too much noise for anyone, please do let me
> know what kind of conduct is best appreciated around here, and I'll do
> my best to align with that.

No problems here, feel free to submit any issue you think is worthy of
discussing.

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