From: Drew Adams <drew.adams@oracle.com>
To: Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>, Drew Adams <drew.adams@oracle.com>
Cc: 24353@debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: bug#24353: 25.1.1: looking-back wrong info
Date: Fri, 2 Sep 2016 13:03:53 -0700 (PDT) [thread overview]
Message-ID: <a3603714-866d-4fb5-aad4-05a42f604cbc@default> (raw)
In-Reply-To: <<83eg52dszc.fsf@gnu.org>>
> > This is not a command, for users. It is a function used by
> > Emacs-Lisp programmers. Sounds like `C-h f' is becoming less
> > useful, and programmers now need to bypass it and go directly
> > to the source code, just to find out the correct signature.
>
> The signature is correct, it just advertises LIMIT as a mandatory
> argument. We could actually make it mandatory, but that would be a
> backward-incompatible change, so a lesser evil has been chosen.
>
> advertised-calling-convention is used in only 28 places in all of
> Emacs, i.e. it's definitely an extraordinary measure. So saying that
> "C-h f" becomes less useful cannot even be called an exaggeration.
I know what advertised-calling-convention is. The argument is
not mandatory. So the documented signature is NOT correct.
A programmer looking only at the `C-h f' output is misled.
It is perfectly possible to invoke `(looking-back "abc")'.
I see nothing good coming from this change. Again, if you
are so worried about recommending that programmers not invoke
the function without a LIMIT argument, then say so explicitly
in the doc string. Do not fake the signature to substitute
for what is a recommendation.
Making the recommendation explicit makes it both clearer
and stronger. You do not mislead about what the actual
signature is, and you emphasize - call attention to -
the recommended practice of using LIMIT.
next parent reply other threads:[~2016-09-02 20:03 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 23+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
[not found] <<e554564c-50a0-8c71-3b79-183ffd54b9c3@easy-emacs.de>
[not found] ` <<83lgzael08.fsf@gnu.org>
[not found] ` <<a404cb34-311e-3fb3-dde8-4340e57c97e5@easy-emacs.de>
[not found] ` <<83k2euehyc.fsf@gnu.org>
[not found] ` <<bf60cf1c-b9b9-4505-ab9f-d518dcf1725c@default>
[not found] ` <<83eg52dszc.fsf@gnu.org>
2016-09-02 20:03 ` Drew Adams [this message]
2016-09-02 8:48 bug#24353: 25.1.1: looking-back wrong info Andreas Röhler
2016-09-02 8:58 ` Eli Zaretskii
2016-09-02 9:57 ` Andreas Röhler
2016-09-02 10:04 ` Eli Zaretskii
2016-09-02 17:51 ` Drew Adams
2016-09-02 19:03 ` Eli Zaretskii
2016-09-02 20:10 ` Dmitry Gutov
2016-09-02 23:59 ` Drew Adams
2016-09-03 0:03 ` Dmitry Gutov
2016-09-03 0:10 ` Drew Adams
2016-09-03 0:14 ` npostavs
2016-09-03 0:15 ` Dmitry Gutov
2016-09-03 0:28 ` Drew Adams
2016-09-03 17:35 ` Clément Pit--Claudel
2016-09-03 18:10 ` Drew Adams
2016-09-03 18:24 ` Clément Pit--Claudel
2016-09-03 18:31 ` npostavs
2016-09-03 18:57 ` Drew Adams
2016-09-04 13:08 ` Michael Heerdegen
2016-09-03 17:50 ` Clément Pit--Claudel
2016-09-03 18:42 ` Drew Adams
2016-09-03 18:52 ` Eli Zaretskii
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