Subject: bug#9350: 23.3; File menu should contain "split window horizontally C-x 3"

From: Stefan Monnier <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 17 Oct 2011 15:51:51 -0400

> I'd eventually want to rename `split-window' to `new-window' or
> `make-new-window' and give it a fourth argument - the buffer to show in
> the new window.

But then the name doesn't make it clear that you're splitting an
existing window.  I.e. it's moving towards display-buffer.

> Presumably, more than 90% of all calls of `split-window' are made to
> display another buffer in the new window, so doing
> a `set-window-buffer' with the old window's buffer doesn't strike me
> as very reasonable.

Agreed.  Adding a fourth argument to split-window doesn't sound like
a bad solution.

        Stefan

PS: One thing that annoys me in the current working of split-window: it
doesn't let you say which window (the top or the bottom) is the new one.
This was fine back when windows had very little state of their own, but
now it is important when it matters because of window-parameters,
window-dedicated-p, ...
So if we want to improve split-window, I think we should consider this
issue as well.