Re: Apropos commands and regexps

[Miles Bader]

address@hidden (Kim F. Storm) writes:
> > Perhaps we should have a new command for that, and name it something like
> > apropos-keywords.
> 
> I disagree.
>
> all apropos commands should
>         a) be easy to use - especially for the novice user
>         b) accept the same type of "search patterns".
> 
> I think giving the apropos commands a keyword based interface is a
> good way to accomplish (a), and having an specific apropos-keywords
> command breaks (b).

I tend to agree with this.

I think that an enhanced `keyword' interface can be made so that it
won't interfere unduly with traditional regexp apropos usage anyway.

For instance, if we use commas & whitespace to separate the `keywords',
I suspect it's very rare for either to occur inside apropos regexps,
simply because the things being searched for contain neither commas or
whitespace (so such a regexp would always fail).  [the exceptions are
things like `apropos-documentation' (and apropos-zippy!), but even then,
it's probably still true in practice]

-Miles
-- 
Suburbia: where they tear out the trees and then name streets after them.