helpful-mode-map with rebinds?

[wbolster]

hi, helpful is very nice... but... 😉

a helpful-mode to enable rebindings of the functions provided by helpful would be... helpful!

inspiration: this would be similar to what counsel-mode does.

[Wilfred]

Sorry, I don't see what counsel-mode has to do with keyboard bindings. Could you describe how you'd expect it to work?

[wbolster]

sure, i'll explain.

i think helpful-* commands can replace built-in describe-function and describe-variable – i assume that's even the point of this package. ;)

so, for instance, i can do this to rebind the default bindings to helpful replacements:

(use-package helpful
  :general
  ("C-h f" 'helpful-function)
  ("C-h v" 'helpful-variable))

however, helpful should know better and could provide a helpful-mode to rebind keys in the keymap for that minor mode. this would allow me to use this to achieve the same:

(use-package helpful
  :config
  (helpful-mode)

the reason i mentioned counsel-mode is that it uses this pattern to remap key bindings from built-ins to commands provided by that package. fyi, here's what it looks like in counsel

(defvar counsel-mode-map
  (let ((map (make-sparse-keymap)))
    (dolist (binding
              '((execute-extended-command . counsel-M-x)
                (describe-bindings . counsel-descbinds)
                (describe-function . counsel-describe-function)
                (describe-variable . counsel-describe-variable)
                (describe-face . counsel-describe-face)
                (list-faces-display . counsel-faces)
                (find-file . counsel-find-file)
                (find-library . counsel-find-library)
                (imenu . counsel-imenu)
                (load-library . counsel-load-library)
                (load-theme . counsel-load-theme)
                (yank-pop . counsel-yank-pop)
                (info-lookup-symbol . counsel-info-lookup-symbol)
                (pop-to-mark-command . counsel-mark-ring)))
      (define-key map (vector 'remap (car binding)) (cdr binding)))
    map)
  "Map for `counsel-mode'.
Remaps built-in functions to counsel replacements.")

[wbolster]

btw, instead of helpful-function it should use helpful-callable to become a describe-function replacement.

[Wilfred]

Aha, OK. So define a global minor mode with a mode map that overrides C-h v and C-h f, to save the user from overriding those themselves.

Helpful only has two commands that have built-in equivalents. If we have more, we should definitely do this, but I'm not sure it makes sense yet.

[wbolster]

well, it would've saved me from wrongfully using helpful-function instead of helpful-callable, and wondering why i didn't see some functions... which turned out to be macros. ;)

[wbolster]

there's also C-h o for -symbol.

i still think it's a good idea. ;)

[wbolster]

something like this:

| =C-h f=   | ~helpful-callable~ | ~describe-function~     |
| =C-h v=   | ~helpful-variable~ | ~describe-variable~     |
| =C-h k=   | ~helpful-key~      | ~describe-key~          |
| =C-h o=   | ~helpful-symbol~   | ~describe-symbol~       |

(from general-describe-keybindings output)