Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!bloom-beacon!RELAY.NSWC.NAVY.MIL!dsill From: dsill@RELAY.NSWC.NAVY.MIL Newsgroups: comp.windows.x Subject: Re: R3 Selection Mechanism Message-ID: <8905261231.AA08339@expo.lcs.mit.edu> Date: 26 May 89 12:30:55 GMT References: Sender: daemon@bloom-beacon.MIT.EDU Organization: The Internet Lines: 41 >From: Bill Cattey > >This person may not have been around when the mouse bindings for the >selection interfaces for gnuemacs and xterm were being chosen. So what? I'm not picking on the the xterm or emacs mouse bindings, I'm saying that defining a single selection interface for all applications and users is folly. >The most important issue here is being ignored: The ATK developers are >willing to change their user interface if they hear suggestions that >will make it more uniform with what other people use. So I should kiss the ground they walk on? Developers are *obligated* to provide the best interface they can. >I hate replies that say the selection mechanism can't be made to do the >exact user interface stated, or that there is no best user interface, or >that the only good interface is one that can be changed. I consider >them lazy. Even silence would provide a space where a creative person >could suggest something. Well, if my posting prevented some creative genius from suggesting a truly revolutionary concept in selection mechanisms, then I'm sorry. But I *do* think I had a valid point to make. Any attempt to impose a simple mouse-drag selection interface on all clients is foolish. Define the programmatic interface any way you want, but allow the client to choose the interactive interface. If you want to provide a toolkit selection interface, that's fine too; so long as it's optional. >Here is one suggestion which I have made privately to Andrew developers >which I pose as a starting point for further discussion: > >[Emacs-like kill-ring on a per-window basis, managed by an exterior >mechanism.] What's that got to do with the user interface to X's selection mechanism? -Dave (dsill@relay.nswc.navy.mil)