Re: How to make Emacs popular again.

[Jean Louis]

* Arthur Miller <arthur.miller@live.com> [2020-10-20 16:23]:
> Jean Louis <bugs@gnu.support> writes:
> 
> > * Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org> [2020-09-29 17:12]:
> >> > Search documentation is separate feature from looking up any technical
> >> > or special word in glossary
> >> 
> >> No, I think it's quite related, especially since the Glossary is part
> >> of the manual.
> >
> > It is related. Let me express myself better, I am proposing a
> > function, something like a long click or key press that is then
> > searching in the glossary. Maybe underlying Lisp functions can be used
> > for that feature.
> 
> Would it be possible to make something like Helm occur where I can type
> a term as pattern in minibuffer and then helm will show different hits
> in a buffer; say something like those ambigious names I don't remember
> like dired-file-name-at-point and dired-filename-at-point; or if there
> is a function and local varaible with same name; so that docs for
> all hits are shown in an helm occur buffer, which I can easiry navigate
> when I wish just to skim over what function does? I would prefer that to
> C-h f or C-h v.

My request to help users define words everywhere in Emacs cannot be
practical. A teaching class or course provider can do that when
necessary. I was thinking that set of definitions could be all updated
in Glossary of the info file, as example, and then various special
words anywhere in Emacs could be quickly defined.

There is no need for that, and Emacs is in true sense already so much
self-documenting.

Now what you mentioned with Helm, it already exists when
{M-x helm-mode RET} is activated.

Then if you try {C-h f} you may see all the functions and narrow
them. There is recommendd helm config, and it includes function
helm-M-x on my right menu key between Alt and Ctrl for anything like M-x

> Would be cool for docs, but it would be also very cool for a dictionary
> in general; say for pulling a description of a word from different
> dictionaries.

I have made 2 step into dictionaries. The package Wordnut that uses
Wordnet dictionary works well with Helm automatically. It shows
possible list of words and user can narrow it or even find those
others interesting.

For dictd versions I think there is no such completion yet, it could
be possible.

-- 
Jean Louis