bug#14857: 24.3.50; `align-regexp': doc unclear for non-interactive usage

bug#14857: 24.3.50; `align-regexp': doc unclear for non-interactive usage

[Michael Heerdegen]

Hello,

after reading the doc of `align-regexp', I try to follow the example and
copy the example text

    Fred (123) 456-7890
    Alice (123) 456-7890
    Mary-Anne (123) 456-7890
    Joe (123) 456-7890

into a newly created buffer and do

M-: (align-regexp (point-min) (point-max) "\(")

I get an error:

align-region: Marker does not point anywhere

Obviously, the interactive spec modifies the entered regexp.  It's
absolutely unclear how `regexp' must look like when `align-regexp' is
called from Lisp.  We should either explain it, or say that this command
is only for interactive use.


Regards,

Michael.



In GNU Emacs 24.3.50.1 (x86_64-pc-linux-gnu, GTK+ Version 3.8.2)
 of 2013-07-08 on dex, modified by Debian
 (emacs-snapshot package, version 2:20130708-1)
Windowing system distributor `The X.Org Foundation', version 11.0.11204000
System Description:	Debian GNU/Linux testing (jessie)

Configured using:
 `configure --build x86_64-linux-gnu --host x86_64-linux-gnu
 --prefix=/usr --sharedstatedir=/var/lib --libexecdir=/usr/lib
 --localstatedir=/var --infodir=/usr/share/info --mandir=/usr/share/man
 --with-pop=yes
 --enable-locallisppath=/etc/emacs-snapshot:/etc/emacs:/usr/local/share/emacs/24.3.50/site-lisp:/usr/local/share/emacs/site-lisp:/usr/share/emacs/24.3.50/site-lisp:/usr/share/emacs/site-lisp
 --without-compress-info --with-crt-dir=/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/
 --with-x=yes --with-x-toolkit=gtk3 --with-imagemagick=yes
 CFLAGS='-DDEBIAN -DSITELOAD_PURESIZE_EXTRA=5000 -g -O2'
 CPPFLAGS='-D_FORTIFY_SOURCE=2' LDFLAGS='-g -Wl,--as-needed
 -znocombreloc''

bug#14857: 24.3.50; `align-regexp': doc unclear for non-interactive usage

[Glenn Morris]

Version: 24.4

Michael Heerdegen wrote:

> absolutely unclear how `regexp' must look like when `align-regexp' is
> called from Lisp.  We should either explain it, or say that this command
> is only for interactive use.

I never know who "we" is, but personally I went for the first option.