bug#58279: 29.0.50; image-dired and background processing

bug#58279: 29.0.50; image-dired and background processing

[Mike Kupfer]

After updating to master 0df73dabc1, I noticed what looks like
contradictory text in etc/NEWS.

On the one hand, we have text saying that image-dired creates thumbnails
in the background:

-----8<-----8<-----
*** 'image-dired-show-all-from-dir-max-files' has been increased to 500.
This option controls asking for confirmation when starting Image-Dired
in a directory with many files.  However, Image-Dired creates
thumbnails in the background these days, so this is not as important
as it used to be, back when entering a large directory could lock up
Emacs for tens of seconds.  In addition, you can now customize this
option to nil to disable this confirmation completely.
----->8----->8-----

On the other hand, we have text that seems to say that background
processing does not happen:

-----8<-----8<-----
*** Some commands and user options are now obsolete.
Since Image-Dired no longer converts images in the background before
displaying them, some commands and user options that are no longer
needed are now obsolete:
'image-dired-cmd-create-temp-image-options',
'image-dired-cmd-create-temp-image-program',
'image-dired-display-current-image-full',
'image-dired-display-current-image-sized',
'image-dired-display-window-height-correction',
'image-dired-display-window-width-correction',
'image-dired-temp-image-file'.
----->8----->8-----

Is this just a matter of confusing wording, or is one of these text
excerpts flat-out wrong?

(I did go to savannah just now to see if the latest etc/NEWS has
different text, and it does, but the apparent conflict remains.)

mike

bug#58279: 29.0.50; image-dired and background processing

[Stefan Kangas]

close 58279 29.1
thanks

Mike Kupfer <mkupfer@alum.berkeley.edu> writes:

> After updating to master 0df73dabc1, I noticed what looks like
> contradictory text in etc/NEWS.
>
> On the one hand, we have text saying that image-dired creates thumbnails
> in the background:
[...]
>
> On the other hand, we have text that seems to say that background
> processing does not happen:
>
[...]
> Is this just a matter of confusing wording, or is one of these text
> excerpts flat-out wrong?

Thanks for the bug report!

That is confusing, indeed.  The full story is that Image-Dired still
generates thumbnails using an external program (the capability to
generate them in the background was added in 2016), but no longer need
to convert them to display the full size image (this is new in Emacs 29).

I clarified the second NEWS item by installing the below change (commit
2d87750004).

I'm therefore closing this bug report.

diff --git a/etc/NEWS b/etc/NEWS
index f21acaf207..8a27b91e30 100644
--- a/etc/NEWS
+++ b/etc/NEWS
@@ -2306,9 +2306,8 @@ the thumbnail file.

 +++
 *** Some commands and user options are now obsolete.
-Since Image-Dired no longer converts images in the background before
-displaying them, some commands and user options that are no longer
-needed are now obsolete:
+Since 'image-dired-display-image-mode' is now based on 'image-mode',
+some commands and user options are no longer needed and are now obsolete:
 'image-dired-cmd-create-temp-image-options',
 'image-dired-cmd-create-temp-image-program',
 'image-dired-display-current-image-full',

bug#58279: 29.0.50; image-dired and background processing

[Mike Kupfer]

Stefan Kangas wrote:

> The full story is that Image-Dired still
> generates thumbnails using an external program (the capability to
> generate them in the background was added in 2016), but no longer need
> to convert them to display the full size image (this is new in Emacs 29).

Ah, I see.  

> +Since 'image-dired-display-image-mode' is now based on 'image-mode',
> +some commands and user options are no longer needed and are now obsolete:

Yes, much better.  Thanks!

mike