bug#46621: Copy line

[Lars Ingebrigtsen]

Mattias Engdegård <mattiase@acm.org> writes:

> * Having the cursor remain in the same column is very useful as it's
> usually near the spot to be edited in the original or copied
> line. Automatically moving it to the beginning or end of the line
> would make it worse.

[...]

> * A single-key binding (like H-y but not C-x y) makes quite a
> difference because that way I can quickly stutter out copies as needed
> without having to plan ahead and use prefix arguments.

I think that means that it might make sense to keep the command as is
(point movement wise).  I.e., if we move point to the duplicated line,
then hitting `H-y' a whole bunch of times would leave point at the final
line. 

> Moreover, even if you don't find the region-sensitive behaviour,
> others do -- for rectangular regions in particular. Nobody is going to
> complain that there are functions in Emacs that they don't care to
> use, especially when they don't take up extra keybindings.

If we decide to move to the duplicated line, but keep the same column --
then that makes no sense in a region-sensitive context at all.  If you
mark a word and hit `H-y', then there's no way to keep the "current
column".

Unless the region commands are also line-based, so the word is copied to
a new line on its own, then you could keep to the same "column" in the
word.

In short: It makes no sense to mash up these two totally different
things into one command, and people do complain about commands that make
no sense.

-- 
(domestic pets only, the antidote for overdose, milk.)
   bloggy blog: http://lars.ingebrigtsen.no