Re: Impressions about VC-Dir hints

Eli Zaretskii [10/Jul  6:11pm +03] wrote:
>> From: Sean Whitton <[email protected]>
>> Cc: [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]
>> Date: Fri, 10 Jul 2026 13:09:55 +0100
>>
>> Eli Zaretskii [10/Jul  3:03pm +03] wrote:
>> > So how about "Next Action" or maybe "DWIM Next"?  We could have a
>> > help-echo there to tell more (assuming the user doesn't immediately
>> > know what is vc-next-action, which most of them should).
>>
>> I don't think "next action" works because it's too complex a notion for
>> beginners.  I don't think we can assume people will know vc-next-action.
>
> I'd expect all of them to know about it.
>
>> "DWIM next" would be okay, with help-echo.
>
> Then let's go with it.

Done.

>> > More generally, I'm not sure why we want to include this guidance in
>> > the buffer in the first place.  We don't usually do that elsewhere;
>> > instead, we have "C-h m" and C-h/? that show the available commands.
>> > There's also quick-help nowadays.  Why is VC Dir special that it needs
>> > such extraordinary measures?
>>
>> I think VC-Dir is one of those things which many people use often but
>> not quite often enough for these usual methods to be sufficient.
>> I've received a fair bit of positive feedback on these hints on- and
>> off-list; it's helping people get started with VC-Dir.
>
> I thought we wanted VC Dir to be the main gateway into VC, in which
> case people should use it all the time...

I think if you are only committing a few files and pushing, you might
never need to use it, because 'C-x v v', 'C-x v P' and 'C-x v +' will be
sufficient.

>> (gitmerge.el has similar hints and is similarly something that us
>> maintainers use often ... but not quite often enough to memorise it all)
>
> If VC Dir is used at the same or lower frequency than gitmerge, I
> wonder why we go to such great lengths to develop it...

Relative to its user base!

-- 
Sean Whitton