bug#3250: 23.0.93; tab completion flakey with tramp when insert-default-directory is nil

bug#3250: 23.0.93; tab completion flakey with tramp when insert-default-directory is nil

[Chris Withers]

With the following in my .emacs:

(setq insert-default-directory nil)

tab completion when using tramp to access a remote file becomes flakey.
It seems that the notion of the current working directory becomes lost,
so tab completion ends up with doubled up directories, eg:

/home/chris/afolder/afolder

...where afolder doesn't exist, resulting in errors such as the following:

File error: tramp-handle-file-name-all-completions: Couldn't `cd 
/home/chris/afolder/afolder/'

This doesn't happen right away, but I usually end up bumping into it 
when navigating
around a folder structure by inserting .. a number of times in the 
minibuffer window.

In GNU Emacs 23.0.93.1 (i386-mingw-nt5.1.2600)
  of 2009-05-02 on SOFT-MJASON
Windowing system distributor `Microsoft Corp.', version 5.1.2600
configured using `configure --with-gcc (3.4)'

Important settings:
   value of $LC_ALL: nil
   value of $LC_COLLATE: nil
   value of $LC_CTYPE: nil
   value of $LC_MESSAGES: nil
   value of $LC_MONETARY: nil
   value of $LC_NUMERIC: nil
   value of $LC_TIME: nil
   value of $LANG: ENG
   value of $XMODIFIERS: nil
   locale-coding-system: cp1252
   default-enable-multibyte-characters: t

Major mode: GNUmakefile

Minor modes in effect:
   shell-dirtrack-mode: t
   cua-mode: t
   tooltip-mode: t
   mouse-wheel-mode: t
   menu-bar-mode: t
   file-name-shadow-mode: t
   global-font-lock-mode: t
   font-lock-mode: t
   blink-cursor-mode: t
   global-auto-composition-mode: t
   auto-composition-mode: t
   auto-encryption-mode: t
   auto-compression-mode: t
   line-number-mode: t
   transient-mark-mode: t

-- 
Simplistix - Content Management, Zope & Python Consulting
            - http://www.simplistix.co.uk

bug#3250: 23.0.93; tab completion flakey with tramp when insert-default-directory is nil

[Stefan Monnier]

> (setq insert-default-directory nil)

> tab completion when using tramp to access a remote file becomes flakey.
> It seems that the notion of the current working directory becomes lost,
> so tab completion ends up with doubled up directories, eg:

> /home/chris/afolder/afolder

> ...where afolder doesn't exist, resulting in errors such as the following:

> File error: tramp-handle-file-name-all-completions: Couldn't `cd
> /home/chris/afolder/afolder/'

> This doesn't happen right away, but I usually end up bumping into it when
> navigating
> around a folder structure by inserting .. a number of times in the
> minibuffer window.

I don't know if Michael can fix it based on the above report, but
I expect that a reproducible test case starting from "emacs -Q"
would help.


        Stefan

bug#3250: 23.0.93; tab completion flakey with tramp when insert-default-directory is nil

[Chris Withers]

Stefan Monnier wrote:
> I don't know if Michael can fix it based on the above report, but
> I expect that a reproducible test case starting from "emacs -Q"
> would help.

really not sure how to go about doing that, is there a how-to anywhere?

fwiw, not sure this is tramp related, I've had similar weirdity when 
just opening local files with (setq insert-default-directory nil).
The minibuffer just seems to get lost as to which directory it's in...

Chris

-- 
Simplistix - Content Management, Zope & Python Consulting
            - http://www.simplistix.co.uk

bug#3250: Re: bug#3250: 23.0.93; tab completion flakey with tramp when insert-default-directory is nil

[Chong Yidong]

> fwiw, not sure this is tramp related, I've had similar weirdity when
> just opening local files with (setq insert-default-directory nil).
> The minibuffer just seems to get lost as to which directory it's in...

Your description is too vague.  Please give exact, step by step
instructions about how to see this bug.

bug#3250: 23.0.93; tab completion flakey with tramp when insert-default-directory is nil

[Chris Withers]

Chong Yidong wrote:
>> fwiw, not sure this is tramp related, I've had similar weirdity when
>> just opening local files with (setq insert-default-directory nil).
>> The minibuffer just seems to get lost as to which directory it's in...
> 
> Your description is too vague.  Please give exact, step by step
> instructions about how to see this bug.

It's a pretty vague bug :-S

Try:

-(setq insert-default-directory nil) in .emacs
-restart
C-x C-f
..
- then try using tab completion

Trying to get into a parent or the current directory and then using tab 
completion seems to be the root of the problem. I don't know any way of 
doing that other than using '../' as a path, and that seems to be what 
causes the problem.

cheers,

Chris

-- 
Simplistix - Content Management, Zope & Python Consulting
            - http://www.simplistix.co.uk

bug#3250: 23.0.93; tab completion flakey with tramp when insert-default-directory is nil

[Chong Yidong]

Chris Withers <chris@simplistix.co.uk> writes:

> -(setq insert-default-directory nil) in .emacs
> -restart
> C-x C-f
> ..
> - then try using tab completion

Pressing TAB shows the contents of my home directory.  This is expected
behavior.  What behavior do you observe?

bug#3250: 23.0.93; tab completion flakey with tramp when insert-default-directory is nil

[Chris Withers]

Chong Yidong wrote:
> Chris Withers <chris@simplistix.co.uk> writes:
> 
>> -(setq insert-default-directory nil) in .emacs
>> -restart
>> C-x C-f
>> ..
>> - then try using tab completion
> 
> Pressing TAB shows the contents of my home directory.  This is expected
> behavior.  What behavior do you observe?

Did you do the all important '..' to go to a parent directory?
Did you then try and tab-complete into a sub-directory?
Did you have (setq insert-default-directory nil) set in your .emacs file?

Chris

-- 
Simplistix - Content Management, Zope & Python Consulting
            - http://www.simplistix.co.uk

bug#3250: 23.0.93; tab completion flakey with tramp when insert-default-directory is nil

[Chong Yidong]

Chris Withers <chris@simplistix.co.uk> writes:

>>> -(setq insert-default-directory nil) in .emacs
>>> -restart
>>> C-x C-f
>>> ..
>>> - then try using tab completion
>>
>> Pressing TAB shows the contents of my home directory.  This is expected
>> behavior.  What behavior do you observe?
>
> Did you do the all important '..' to go to a parent directory?

After typing `..', I type TAB.  The text in the minibuffer completes to

  ../

After typing TAB again, Emacs offers a completions list showing the
directories in /home.  This is expected.

bug#3250: 23.0.93; tab completion flakey with tramp when insert-default-directory is nil

[Chris Withers]

Chong Yidong wrote:
>> Did you do the all important '..' to go to a parent directory?
> 
> After typing `..', I type TAB.  The text in the minibuffer completes to
> 
>   ../
> 
> After typing TAB again, Emacs offers a completions list showing the
> directories in /home.  This is expected.

Okay, here's what I did:

- open a file in a folder
- C-x C-f
- .. TAB to go to parent folder of the folder containing the file you opened
- type 'so' and hit TAB
- minibuffer now shows "../something/", *Completions* shows contents of 
'something' folder
- now delete all characters in the minibuffer with backspace
- hit TAB, *Completions* still shows contents of 'something' folder
- type first two characters of a name in *Completions*, no completion 
happens [1]
- delete those two characters
- type 'so' and hit TAB
- minibuffer now shows "something/"
- hitting TAB one or two more times and *Completions* once more shows 
the contents of 'something' folder
- type first two characters of a name in *Completions*, no completion 
happens and current working directory in minibuffer seems very confused [1]

[1] these bullet points feel like bugs to me...

cheers,

Chris

-- 
Simplistix - Content Management, Zope & Python Consulting
            - http://www.simplistix.co.uk

bug#3250: 23.0.93; tab completion flakey with tramp when insert-default-directory is nil

[Stefan Monnier]

> Okay, here's what I did:

> - open a file in a folder
> - C-x C-f
> - .. TAB to go to parent folder of the folder containing the file you opened
> - type 'so' and hit TAB
> - minibuffer now shows "../something/", *Completions* shows contents of
> something' folder
> - now delete all characters in the minibuffer with backspace
> - hit TAB, *Completions* still shows contents of 'something' folder
> - type first two characters of a name in *Completions*, no completion
> happens [1]
> - delete those two characters
> - type 'so' and hit TAB
> - minibuffer now shows "something/"
> - hitting TAB one or two more times and *Completions* once more shows the
> contents of 'something' folder
> - type first two characters of a name in *Completions*, no completion
> happens and current working directory in minibuffer seems very confused [1]

> [1] these bullet points feel like bugs to me...

Thank you.  This should be enough for me (or whoever else gets to it
first, but it looks like a bug in my new completion code) to find
the problem.


        Stefan

bug#3250: 23.0.93; tab completion flakey with tramp when insert-default-directory is nil

[Chris Withers]

Stefan Monnier wrote:
> Thank you.  This should be enough for me (or whoever else gets to it
> first, but it looks like a bug in my new completion code) to find
> the problem.

Does this mean you can reproduce the problem(s)?

cheers,

Chris

-- 
Simplistix - Content Management, Zope & Python Consulting
            - http://www.simplistix.co.uk

bug#3250: 23.0.93; tab completion flakey with tramp when insert-default-directory is nil

[Stefan Monnier]

>> Thank you.  This should be enough for me (or whoever else gets to it
>> first, but it looks like a bug in my new completion code) to find
>> the problem.
> Does this mean you can reproduce the problem(s)?

Yes,


        Stefan