Re: improving query-replace and query-replace-regexp

[Juri Linkov]

Richard Stallman <address@hidden> writes:
>     After a M-%, you should already be able to continue the same query-replace
>     action with: M-% RET
>
> That sounds like an acceptable feature.  I don't think an empty
> argument to M-% makes any other sense.

I like the idea to make M-% to repeat the last query-replace more easily,
because C-x ESC ESC is too inconvenient way to do that.

But an empty argument to M-% can't be used to repeat query-replace
because the first argument of query-replace makes sense even when
it is empty.  It can be used to insert a replacement string between
all characters, i.e. to change a string like "abcdef" into ";a;b;c;d;e;f;"
by (query-replace "" ";").  This is an infrequent operation but
still makes sense.

There should be a better solution like already proposed M-% M-% with
the second M-% typed in the minibuffer.

-- 
Juri Linkov
http://www.jurta.org/emacs/