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.