> Can you show how `package-alist` changes for `-go-mode` for you?

To reproduce the case we need emacs 29.0.91 and

    ~/.emacs.d/elpa/go-mode-20170726.555/...
    ~/.emacs.d/elpa/go-mode-20220114.2239/...

Run `emacs -Q` and `M-x package-initialize`.

After that `package-alist` contains

   (go-mode #s(package-desc :name go-mode :version
                            (20170726 555)
                            :summary "Major mode for the Go programming
language" :reqs nil :kind nil :archive nil :dir
"/home/eab/.emacs.d/elpa/go-mode-20170726.555" :extras
                            ((:keywords "languages" "go")
                             (:url . "https://github.com/dominikh/go-mode.el
")
                             (:commit .
"99b06da201afb91e8db0c525c0f3c3590fd92fa6"))
                            :signed nil)
            #s(package-desc :name go-mode :version
                            (20220114 2239)
                            :summary "Major mode for the Go programming
language" :reqs
                            ((emacs
                              (26 1)))
                            :kind nil :archive nil :dir
"/home/eab/.emacs.d/elpa/go-mode-20220114.2239" :extras
                            ((:url . "https://github.com/dominikh/go-mode.el
")
                             (:keywords "languages" "go")
                             (:maintainer "The go-mode Authors")
                             (:authors
                              ("The go-mode Authors"))
                             (:commit .
"fa2693278637f56759480d2bf203bb8aad107230"))
                            :signed nil))

and `load-path` contains

    "/home/eab/.emacs.d/elpa/go-mode-20170726.555"

On Mon, May 29, 2023 at 11:25 PM Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca>
wrote:

> >> In your commit 04c4c578, package directories became NOSORT due to
> (fourth t
> >> argument)
> >>     (directory-files dir)
> >> replaced by
> >>     (directory-files dir t "^[^.]" t)
> >>
> >> It affects package-alist forming.
>
> Can you show how `package-alist` changes for `-go-mode` for you?
>
> >> For example, there are old and new
> >> versions of a package in my elpa directory:
> >>
> >> go-mode-20170726.555
> >> go-mode-20220114.2239
> >>
> >> After (package-initialize)
> >> in emacs 28 (require 'go-mode) gives 2022 version, e.g. the latest
> version
> >> of a package in most cases, directory-files default sorting works.
> >> In emacs 29.0.91 I get old 2017
>
> That shouldn't be the case (unless you specifically asked for it via
> something like `package-pinned-packages`).
>
> >> version because of NOSORT unpredictable version order in
> >> package-alist and hence random paths in load-path
>
> In its, this shouldn't make a difference, because it just changes the
> order in which we consult the `<PKG>-pkg.el` descriptors to populate
> `package-alist` whereas the *activation* of the `go-mode` package is the
> one that should choose the one with the higher version number.
>
> > No, this is not a feature but I think it might have uncovered a bug.
> > Relying on the ordering of file names (which IIRC is lexiographic not
> > numeric) is not a robust way to decide what packages should be preferred
> > when loading descriptors.  Could you submit a bug report to
> > bug-gnu-emacs@gnu.org so that this issue can be discussed with the other
> > maintainers?
>
> Barring bugs, `package-alist` can be filled in any order (so the `nosort`
> option shouldn't make a difference): we apply the proper sorting
> (i.e. newest version at the front) in `package-process-define-package`.
>
>
>         Stefan
>
>

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