Re: What're the proper names for the backspace and delete keys in files.texi?

[Alan Mackenzie]

Hi, All!

On Mon, 16 Jan 2006, Richard M. Stallman wrote:

>    For the third time of asking, would somebody (Richard?) please state
>    definitively what the canonical names, to be used in files.texi, are for
>    the "backspace" key (typically the large rectangular key above CR that
>    deletes a single character backwards) and the "delete" key (typically the
>    bottom leftmost key of a block of 6 keys directly to the right of CR,
>    that deletes a single character forwards).

>    I think the canonical names for these keys are, respectively, @key{DEL}
>    and @key{DELETE} (with exactly that capitalization), but I'm not sure.

>BACKSPACE or BS is the key labeled Backspace.  DELETE refers to the
>key labeled "Delete".

>DEL means the ASCII character 0177.  In Emacs, either DELETE or
>BACKSPACE is equivalent to DEL.

Many Thanks!

So, a more prolix summary of these things:

@key{DEL} is a _logical_ key, that key which happens to generate ASCII
DEL (0x7f) when you press it.  So the sentence "Emacs binds @key{DEL} to
the command @code{delete-backward-char} by default." would be entirely
appropriate.

@key{BACKSPACE} (or @key{BS}) and @key{DELETE} are _physical_ keys,
characterised by their positions on the keyboard or the text embossed
upon them (even though these positions/embossments vary between keyboards
and cultures).  @key{BACKSPACE} and @key{DELETE} are thus the appropriate
names to use for the keys that delete in the wrong direction in "@node
DEL Does Not Delete".

The "Equivalent" above means "is configured, whether by the OS's keyboard
setup or Emacs's function-key-map or some other means, to produce the
same keycode as".

I think I've got it now!  Apologies to all fellow hackers whose patience
I've stretched in this thread.

-- 
Alan.