Re: table.el

[Richard Stallman]

Instead of using advice, it would be better for us to add
code to the actual functions delete-region... so that in
table mode it can do the right thing.

This is cleaner because people looking at the definition of
delete-region etc., trying to see what it does, will come across
a conditional saying "if table-mode then...", and they will realize
that something special is happening.

Otherwise, they will be likely to go on debugging based on the source
code, not realizing that the function has advice.  They could spend an
hour being puzzled by this.

Do you want to make changes to those 12 functions for table mode?

This code does not have to be special-purpose and limited to table
mode.  For instance, you could make hook variables for those functions
to call.  Then table.el could set the hook variables to suitable
functions.  This might be useful for some other features as well as
table.el.

A few weeks ago, someone proposed on this list a feature for
discontinuous regions.  That was intended, I think, for the sake of
rectangles, but maybe table.el could use it too.  If that works out,
it could be the cleanest and most general solution.