C-x SPC : rectangle-mark-mode or gud-break?

[Michael Welsh Duggan]

I know I am opening up a can of worms here, but I am going to argue that
`C-x SPC' be changed back to `gud-break'.  I've tried using the current
system for a couple of weeks now, and my fingers still automatically go
to `C-x SPC' instead of `C-x C-a C-b'.

I must admit to wondering why more people on this list aren't
experiencing this as well.  Do people not run gdb from within Emacs?  Do
they tend to use the toolbar to set breakpoints?  I'm don't get very
upset when new features are turned on by default in new versions of
Emacs, but I find myself annoyed when long-lived keybindings that I use
frequently are overwritten by functionality that (at least in my case)
is much less common.  Emacs is a programmers' editor, isn't it?

Now, please note that I do know how to rebind keys, and have re-bound
`C-x SPC' in my .emacs to that which I expect.  And my frustration with
this new rebinding isn't directed at anyone in particular.  It's just
frustration.  (And I have a co-worker who I know is going to go
ballistic once he types `C-x SPC' in the next version of Emacs and the
unexpected happens.)

If `C-x SPC' remains as `rectangle-mark-mode', please make sure that it
gets mentioned in the NEWS such that a search for some combination of
"gud", "gdb", and "breakpoint" will find the change, along with the `C-x
C-a C-b' binding.  Also please make sure the documentation for
`gud-break' in the "Commands of GUD" node of the manual gets updated.
(Currently it doesn't even mention the `C-x C-a C-b' binding.)

-- 
Michael Welsh Duggan
(address@hidden)