From 39163472677ab9619e43607020fd430b8667c2a7 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Kévin Le Gouguec <kevin.legouguec@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 11 Apr 2021 18:37:06 +0200
Subject: Gush about incoming Emacs features

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+Emacs's NEWS files are useful as a searchable reference, but they can
+be overwhelming as an entry point.  In this file, I'm keeping track of
+the changes /I/ am excited about.
+* Unmerged branches & patches
+** "Pure GTK" Emacs
+Some brave souls took it upon themselves to drag Emacs kicking and
+screaming into The Wayland Future™.
+* 28
+** Transient input methods
+*** Background
+Input methods make it easier to type in certain classes of characters.
+Emacs includes different kinds of methods:
+
+- alternative keyboard layouts :: if you are familiar with specific
+  layouts, e.g. Dvorak, French AZERTY, Russian, you can ask Emacs to
+  switch to this layout;
+
+- composition :: some methods let you specify characters by typing in
+  short sequences of other symbols:
+  - =french-prefix= provides easy access to diacritics with e.g. ='e=
+    for =é=, =,c= for =ç=;
+  - =TeX= turns TeX macros such as =\alpha=, =\pi=, =\le=, =\ne=,
+    =\wedge= into their corresponding characters, i.e. α, π, ≤, ≠, ∧.
+
+Input methods can be toggled with =C-\=; prefix that with =C-u= to
+select a new method.  =C-h I <METHOD>= shows what characters
+=<METHOD>= supports.  =C-u C-x == on a character tells you how to
+input that character with the current input method ("to input: …").
+*** What's new
+The new =C-x \= command enables an input method temporarily, just for
+the next character, disables it afterward.
+
+As an occasional user of the =TeX= method, I find this useful because
+I no longer need to choose between
+1. enabling =TeX=, typing a sequence, disabling =TeX=, or
+2. enabling =TeX=, typing a sequence, keeping =TeX= enabled, getting
+   bitten by it whenever I type in =oh_no= and that turns into =ohₙo=.
+
+=C-x \= seems to follow the same rules as =C-\=:
+- the first time you call it, it prompts for a method,
+- subsequent calls do not prompt,
+- add =C-u= to get a prompt back.
+** ~same-window-prefix~, ~other-window-prefix~, ~other-frame-prefix~
+The rules which govern how Emacs manages windows are beyond my
+reckoning.  I know [[https://protesilaos.com/codelog/2020-01-07-emacs-display-buffer/][it is possible to tame them]] with patience and
+discipline; still, these new commands appeal to my humble caveman
+brain.
+
+Assuming the command run by key sequence =<KEYSEQ>= will display its
+own buffer =<BUF>=,
+
+- =C-x 4 1 <KEYSEQ>= says "please display =<BUF>= right here, in this
+  window";
+- =C-x 4 4 <KEYSEQ>= says "please display =<BUF>= in another window";
+- =C-x 5 5 <KEYSEQ>= says "please display =<BUF>= in another frame".
+
+These new ~other-…-prefix~ commands can be seen as generalizations of
+common shorthands such as =C-x 4 f= or =C-x 5 b=.
+** Visibility-cycling with =TAB= in outline.el
+=TAB= and =S-TAB= now work in Outline mode like they do in Org.  Look
+at e.g. NEWS (=C-h N=) to see them in action.  Customize
+~outline-minor-mode-cycle~ to enable this in ~outline-minor-mode~.
+
+One small, /tiny/ step toward chipping good features out of Org in
+order to generalize them.
+** ~yank-from-kill-ring~
+I've always been somewhat ambivalent about Emacs's ~kill-ring~:
+
+1. Everything I ever copied is saved forever!  This is a revolutionary
+   feature on par with the undo system 🙌
+
+2. … Surely we can find a more ergonomic UI than =C-y M-y M-y M-y=
+   /dammit/ =C-_ C-_= /ah screw it/ =C-h v kill-ring RET C-s= 🤔
+
+And lo!  =M-y= now prompts for the ~kill-ring~ item to yank, with
+completion.  This makes the ~kill-ring~ so much more accessible IMO.
+** repeat-mode
+=C-x o o o=!
+** ~read-char-by-name-group~, ~read-char-by-name-sort~
+Some very welcome quality-of-life tweaks to =C-x 8 RET=.
+* 27
+** ~what-cursor-show-names~
+Most of my uses of =C-u C-x == are to (re)discover how the Unicode
+consortium decided some character should be called; having plain =C-x
+== give me that information without popping an extra buffer is neat.
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