bug#10990: 24.0.94; Uncompressing files

[Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>]

> Date: Sun, 11 Mar 2012 22:50:06 +0100
> From: Dani Moncayo <dmoncayo@gmail.com>
> Cc: 10990@debbugs.gnu.org
> 
> Well, it's obvious that there is no "gunzip" executable visible from
> my environment.  I knew that.  And it is also obvious that I don't
> need it.  The problem is not that my system is lacking an
> uncompression program (I have "gzip -d"), the problem is that Emacs
> (a) doesn't know how to invoke it, and (b) doesn't let me tell it how.

gzip and gunzip are parts of the same package.  It is reasonable to
assume that having one means you also have the other.

But it sounds like you don't actually want to solve your problem, but
rather make some point about big bad Emacs.  Whatever.

> > Visiting compressed files uses "gzip -d", so it doesn't need gunzip.
> > See lisp/jka-cmpr-hook.el.
> 
> Then, why doesn't Emacs use that same method whenever it needs to
> uncompress a file?

Because dired uses a different code which was written by a different
person, I guess.  That code needs a program name, not a shell command,
so "gzip -d" will not do.

> If Emacs was consistent in this regard and used "gzip -d" whenever it
> need to uncompress a file, I would not have had any problem.

I don't see why there should be a consistency in this case.

> > I submit that your system is misconfigured
> 
> ???
> I showed clearly that my system is capable of uncompressing files
> compressed by Emacs.

You have only half of a package installed.