help-make-xrefs

help-make-xrefs

[Drew Adams]

help-make-xrefs tries to be smart about providing links, but it could
use some improvement. In the *Help* buffer from `C-h b', for instance,
it provides links for commands that follow `M-x', even for cases such
as `C-M-x'.  The comment for this code says "An obvious case of a key
substitution", which is not correct in this case.  The regexp should
at least be changed to prohibit a symbol character just before `M-x'.

Another problem in the `describe-bindings' display is this code on
line 465 that tries to back up over non-whitespace:

 (skip-chars-backward "^\t\n")

This works only if `indent-tabs-mode' is non-nil in the *Help* buffer.
The string should be "^ \t\n" or equivalent. Otherwise, no commands
are linked.

In GNU Emacs 22.1.1 (i386-mingw-nt5.1.2600)
 of 2007-06-02 on RELEASE
Windowing system distributor `Microsoft Corp.', version 5.1.2600
configured using `configure --with-gcc (3.4) --cflags -Ic:/gnuwin32/include'

Re: help-make-xrefs

[martin rudalics]

 > help-make-xrefs tries to be smart about providing links, but it could
 > use some improvement. In the *Help* buffer from `C-h b', for instance,
 > it provides links for commands that follow `M-x', even for cases such
 > as `C-M-x'.  The comment for this code says "An obvious case of a key
 > substitution", which is not correct in this case.  The regexp should
 > at least be changed to prohibit a symbol character just before `M-x'.

After C-h b I get the line

C-M-x		eval-defun

with a `help-function' button labeled `eval-defun' which doesn't seem
entirely wrong.  We could change the regexp in question to

"\\_<M-x\\s-+\\(\\sw\\(\\sw\\|\\s_\\)*\\sw\\)" nil t)

but that might break other uses of `help-make-xrefs'.  Alternatively we
could write

"[^-]\\<M-x\\s-+\\(\\sw\\(\\sw\\|\\s_\\)*\\sw\\)" nil t)

Suggestions welcome.

 > Another problem in the `describe-bindings' display is this code on
 > line 465 that tries to back up over non-whitespace:
 >
 >  (skip-chars-backward "^\t\n")
 >
 > This works only if `indent-tabs-mode' is non-nil in the *Help* buffer.
 > The string should be "^ \t\n" or equivalent. Otherwise, no commands
 > are linked.

I fixed this on 2007-07-02.