Emacs: beframe version 0.3.0

2023-05-21

beframe enables a frame-oriented Emacs workflow where each frame has access to the list of buffers visited therein. In the interest of brevity, we call buffers that belong to frames “beframed”.

• Package name (GNU ELPA): beframe
• Official manual: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/beframe
• Change log: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/beframe-changelog
• Git repo on SourceHut: https://git.sr.ht/~protesilaos/beframe
  • Mirrors:
    • GitHub: https://github.com/protesilaos/beframe
    • GitLab: https://gitlab.com/protesilaos/beframe
• Mailing list: https://lists.sr.ht/~protesilaos/general-issues
• Video demo: https://protesilaos.com/codelog/2023-02-28-emacs-beframe-demo/
• Backronym: Buffers Encapsulated in Frames Realise Advanced Management of Emacs.

Below are the release notes

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Use more descriptive names for assume/unassume commands

Beframe limits the buffer list to buffers that are visited in the current frame. I provide commands to assume (add) or unassume (remove) buffers from other frames, making for a powerful and flexible workflow:

• In bulk: Assume/unassume the (i) entire buffer list of a frame, or the (ii) consolidated buffer list of all frames.

• Selectively: Use minibuffer completion to compile a list of buffers to assume/unassume (iii) from the given frame, or (iv) buffers from the consolidated buffer list.

The commands that operate selectively are renamed to better describe what they do. We thus have:

Deprecated name	New name
beframe-assume-buffers	beframe-assume-frame-buffers-selectively
beframe-assume-buffers-all-frames	beframe-assume-buffers-selectively-all-frames
beframe-unassume-buffers	beframe-unassume-current-frame-buffers-selectively

To avoid potential confusion, the following command aliases are discontinued:

• beframe-add-buffers
• beframe-remove-buffers
• beframe-add-frame-buffers
• beframe-remove-frame-buffers

Provide the beframe-prefix-map

This is a keymap that binds the Beframe commands to recommended keys. As with all Emacs key bindings, those are configurable.

I call it a “prefix” keymap because it is not bound anywhere and cannot be used by default. The user must explicitly bind it to a key, which will be treated as a prefix key. For example:

(define-key global-map (kbd "C-c b") beframe-prefix-map)

With the above code, C-c b becomes the prefix key that invokes Beframe commands. Type C-c b C-h to show the available key bindings (by default C-h as a suffix to an incomplete key sequence produces a Help buffer that links to all the available bindings).

The beframe-prefix-map and beframe-mode are used independent of each other.

Miscellaneous

• Simplify how beframe-rename-function is added by the beframe-mode.
• Refine the application of beframe-create-frame-scratch-buffer by the beframe-mode.
• Tweak the beframe-buffer-sort-visibility function to be consistent with the style of beframe.el.
• Rewrite parts of the manual to reference the aforementioned.