;; -*- lexical-binding: t -*-
;;
;; this file:
;;   https://dataswamp.org/~incal/emacs-init/char.el

(defun what-char (&optional pos)
  (interactive)
  (or pos (setq pos (point)))
  (let ((char (char-after pos)))
    (unless (characterp char)
      (error "No char") )
    (let*((new (get-char-code-property char 'name))
          (old (get-char-code-property char 'old-name))
          (msg (downcase (if (and new old)
                             (format "%s [old name: %s]" new old)
                           (or new old) ))))
      (kill-new msg)
      (message msg) )))

(defalias 'char #'what-char)

;; (what-char)       ; space
;; (what-char)}      ; right curly bracket (old name closing curly bracket)
;; M-x what-char RET ; line feed (lf)

(provide 'char)