# HG changeset patch # User Richard M. Stallman # Date 1113752793 0 # Node ID 7a990909b5f91f32ff464e92dcc1ea87a81903bf # Parent 6654a6208131c0f356ed9a03aa522daee8c44095 (Positions): Clarify converting marker to integer. diff -r 6654a6208131 -r 7a990909b5f9 lispref/positions.texi --- a/lispref/positions.texi Sun Apr 17 15:44:33 2005 +0000 +++ b/lispref/positions.texi Sun Apr 17 15:46:33 2005 +0000 @@ -15,14 +15,16 @@ often speak of the character ``at'' a position, meaning the character after that position. - Positions are usually represented as integers starting from 1, but can -also be represented as @dfn{markers}---special objects that relocate -automatically when text is inserted or deleted so they stay with the -surrounding characters. Functions that expect an argument to be a -position (an integer), but accept a marker as a substitute, normally -ignore the marker buffer. Of course, markers used this way usually -point to a position in the buffer that the function operates on, but -that is entirely the programmer's responsibility. @xref{Markers}. + Positions are usually represented as integers starting from 1, but +can also be represented as @dfn{markers}---special objects that +relocate automatically when text is inserted or deleted so they stay +with the surrounding characters. Functions that expect an argument to +be a position (an integer), but accept a marker as a substitute, +normally ignore which buffer the marker points into; they convert the +marker to an integer, and use that integer, exactly as if you had +passed the integer as the argument. Markers used this way usually +point to a position in the buffer that the function will operate on, +but if not, they are converted to integers anyway. @xref{Markers}. See also the ``field'' feature (@pxref{Fields}), which provides functions that are used by many cursor-motion commands.