bug#74792: 29.2.50; goto-address-mode should support RET in special-mode buffers

bug#74792: 29.2.50; goto-address-mode should support RET in special-mode buffers

[Spencer Baugh via Bug reports for GNU Emacs, the Swiss army knife of text editors]

goto-address-mode binds C-c RET to goto-address-at-point when point is
on a URL or email address.  In special-mode buffers (or maybe any
read-only buffer?) it should also bind RET while point is on the URL or
email address.

This would improve functionality for packages which create special-mode
buffers showing arbitrary text that may contain URLs.

For example, commit messages may contain URLs, and enabling
goto-message-mode in vc-log buffers highlights those URLs, but RET
doesn't work to follow them.  Similarly, magit enables goto-address-mode
in buffers showing a commit message, but it implements separate handling
for RET on URLs since goto-address-mode doesn't provide that as a
binding.

This could be done with an extended-menu-item binding with a filter
which checks (derived-mode-p 'special-mode), but maybe there's a better
way?

bug#74792: 29.2.50; goto-address-mode should support RET in special-mode buffers

[Eli Zaretskii]

> Cc: dmitry@gutov.dev
> Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2024 11:10:53 -0500
> From:  Spencer Baugh via "Bug reports for GNU Emacs,
>  the Swiss army knife of text editors" <bug-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>
> 
> 
> goto-address-mode binds C-c RET to goto-address-at-point when point is
> on a URL or email address.  In special-mode buffers (or maybe any
> read-only buffer?) it should also bind RET while point is on the URL or
> email address.

I don't think it's a good idea, since many special-mode descendants
bind RET to useful commands.  For goto-address-at-point to override
that would be a nuisance, I think.

bug#74792: 29.2.50; goto-address-mode should support RET in special-mode buffers

[Spencer Baugh via Bug reports for GNU Emacs, the Swiss army knife of text editors]

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On Wed, Dec 11, 2024, 12:09 PM Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org> wrote:

> > Cc: dmitry@gutov.dev
> > Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2024 11:10:53 -0500
> > From:  Spencer Baugh via "Bug reports for GNU Emacs,
> >  the Swiss army knife of text editors" <bug-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>
> >
> >
> > goto-address-mode binds C-c RET to goto-address-at-point when point is
> > on a URL or email address.  In special-mode buffers (or maybe any
> > read-only buffer?) it should also bind RET while point is on the URL or
> > email address.
>
> I don't think it's a good idea, since many special-mode descendants
> bind RET to useful commands.  For goto-address-at-point to override
> that would be a nuisance, I think.
>

True, but when I've specifically moved point to a URL it is usually because
I want to follow the URL, not do whatever is bound to RET in the mode.

But this sounds like something that may differ between users, so perhaps we
could add this controlled by a defcustom?

>

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bug#74792: 29.2.50; goto-address-mode should support RET in special-mode buffers

[Eli Zaretskii]

> From: Spencer Baugh <sbaugh@janestreet.com>
> Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2024 12:39:59 -0500
> Cc: 74792@debbugs.gnu.org, Dmitry Gutov <dmitry@gutov.dev>
> 
> On Wed, Dec 11, 2024, 12:09 PM Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org> wrote:
> 
>  > Cc: dmitry@gutov.dev
>  > Date: Wed, 11 Dec 2024 11:10:53 -0500
>  > From:  Spencer Baugh via "Bug reports for GNU Emacs,
>  >  the Swiss army knife of text editors" <bug-gnu-emacs@gnu.org>
>  > 
>  > 
>  > goto-address-mode binds C-c RET to goto-address-at-point when point is
>  > on a URL or email address.  In special-mode buffers (or maybe any
>  > read-only buffer?) it should also bind RET while point is on the URL or
>  > email address.
> 
>  I don't think it's a good idea, since many special-mode descendants
>  bind RET to useful commands.  For goto-address-at-point to override
>  that would be a nuisance, I think.
> 
> True, but when I've specifically moved point to a URL it is usually because I want to follow the URL, not do
> whatever is bound to RET in the mode.

You cannot know that.  E.g., point could be on a URL by chance, for
example, if a buffer starts with a URL.

> But this sounds like something that may differ between users, so perhaps we could add this controlled by a
> defcustom?

Let's first hear that enough people here think that it might sometimes
be a good thing.  If so, then yes, a user option, by default off,
could be a way to introduce such behavior.