Re: `C-b' is backward-char, `left' is left-char - why?

[David Kastrup]

Eli Zaretskii <address@hidden> writes:

>> From: David Kastrup <address@hidden>
>> Date: Thu, 02 Jun 2011 19:09:40 +0200
>> 
>> It can even happen that both left and right move backward (when we are
>> at the end of an L2R piece in R2L context), or both move forward.
>
> Unless I misunderstand you, no, this cannot happen.  <left> and
> <right> always move in opposite directions in the buffer at the same
> buffer position, because they invoke opposite buffer movement commands
> (forward-char or backward-char) on identical conditions.  If <left>
> invokes forward-char, then <right> will always invoke backward-char at
> the same buffer position, or vice versa.
>
> If I'm mistaken, please show me an example where what you say can
> happen does happen.

lllllRRRRRRlllll
     ^

If I move left, I jump backward over the RL text to the end of the LR
text.  If I move right, I move 1 character backward in the RL text.

Now that is what I would expect to happen.  However, not the _current_
direction decides whether to reverse left/right movement, but the
_paragraph_ direction.  If this is a LR paragraph (like it likely is),
left will move right in the RRRRRR section and vice versa.

This is what Hebrew writers expect?  I would have thought that it is
more natural to make the difference on the current direction, so that
right moves right visually.  It currently only does it when current bidi
direction and paragraph bidi direction concur, otherwise it moves in the
opposite direction.

-- 
David Kastrup