Re: Suggestion for improved clarity in xref.el symbol names

[Dmitry Gutov]

Hello Robert,

On 04/19/2016 11:27 PM, Robert Weiner wrote:
> The xref.el library has many variables and functions with `backend' in
> them, indicating that they represent language-dependent entities.
> Before the xref API is set in stone, I would consider replacing this
> term with 'language' as it reads better in the names,

Thanks for the suggestion, but a backend is not a language, it's a 
particular solution for a given language and/or environment.

There will (hopefully) be multiple different backends for certain 
languages. There can be backends that are specific to a certain 
environment within a language (say, only projects using a particular 
framework), and so on.

A backend can also be language-agnostic. In fact, one of the two 
backends available now is that (etags).

> it refers to a
> concept intrinsic to the cross-references themselves which are
> language-specific, whereas backend is just an implementation detail, and
> it will make more sense to users of the library who may not be familiar
> with the concept of a `backend'.

The functions and variables with the word "backend" in them are normally 
something only backend authors should be concerned with. And they should 
get familiar with the concept, because xref-backend-functions is the 
main entry point to this API. I'm not sure the phrase "xref language" 
could convey the same notion.

The user-level commands don't have the word "backend" in them.