Re: [External] : Re: Simple isearch concerns

[Yuri Khan]

On Tue, 11 May 2021 at 04:31, Juri Linkov <juri@linkov.net> wrote:

> When you type 'C-f' in a web browser, it activates the "minibuffer".
> Then you can type a search string.  As soon as you type a character
> in the minibuffer, it immediately updates the search state
> in the original window.  You can edit the search string
> while the minibuffer is active, and the search results are
> updated immediately.  Also each browser window has own search.

That makes sense for a web browser, because a web browser is typically
used only for viewing content and not editing. It typically also has
no point (except in form fields and editable content). (There is also
an optional accessibility feature that gives you a point which you can
move around the page and select text with the keyboard.)

The typical use case in a browser is to enter a search term and jump
through its occurrences. As soon as you have found the one you want,
you just keep reading from that point.

Because browsing the Web is mostly a mouse-driven activity, and only a
few keys are involved, a browser can afford giving all text editing
keys to the search bar, including Home/←/→/End to move the insertion
point within the search box and any text selection and cut/copy/paste
keys.

On the other hand, in a text editor such as Emacs, the use case is
different. You want to find an occurrence and then work with buffer
text in its neighborhood, and you want to switch from searching to
editing with as little friction as possible — preferably none. Isearch
supports exactly this use case, by making any unbound key terminate
the search and then perform its usual action, and making an exception
for Backspace so you can correct small typing mistakes. This comes at
the price of making editing the search string itself a bit less
convenient — one has to press M-e for that.