Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!bbn!gateway!nmsu.EDU!jthomas
From: jthomas@nmsu.EDU
Newsgroups: comp.emacs
Subject: Re: ARGH!  Ahem.  Umm, answering prompts & abbreviating
Message-ID: <8902070043.AA09016@NMSU.Edu>
Date: 7 Feb 89 00:43:58 GMT
References: <8902062351.AA02261@pawlsub.rpi.edu>
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In "private" correspondence, Dave (tale%pawl.rpi.edu) asks

>   I am very happy to be allowed to switch buffers, fix things, etc., in those
>   cases where emacs uses yes-or-no-p , thank you!
>
>Could you please explain that line to me?
> 
>I guess what I don't understand is a) which do you like, then?
>y-or-n-p all the time or a mixture of that and yes-or-no-p?  and b)
>why do you have to answer a y(es)-or-n(o)-p prompt to switch buffers?

Then I was too obtuse.  y-or-n-p reads a single character.  yes-or-no-p
reads characters.  I can switch buffers (C-x C-o) when the questioner uses
yes-or-no-p but not when it uses y-or-n-p.  The y-or-n-p routine does not
allow one to go check things out because C-x is taken as a "no" answer.  My
point is that they have two differences.  One is the length of the answer
and the other is what you are allowed to do while answering.

So, where I'm not worried about the question, y-or-n-p is fine, but I don't
mind having to type yes when I'm possibly in trouble.

Jim     jthomas@nmsu.edu