bug#3767: 23.0.94; Functions in password-cache should be autoloaded

bug#3767: 23.0.94; Functions in password-cache should be autoloaded

[Magnus Henoch]

I was wondering why jabber.el didn't cache my password, even though I
set password-cache and password-cache-expiry correctly, and found the
reason: jabber.el checks whether the running Emacs is new enough to have
password-cache.el by (fboundp 'password-read), but this function is not
autoloaded.  The problem is masked if you use Gnus.

Thus I propose that at least `password-read' be autoloaded, possibly
others as well.

(Accusations of me being a misguided elisp programmer are welcome,
especially with suggestions of better ways to check for this feature.)

Maguns

bug#3767: 23.0.94; Functions in password-cache should be autoloaded

[Glenn Morris]

Magnus Henoch wrote:

> I was wondering why jabber.el didn't cache my password, even though I
> set password-cache and password-cache-expiry correctly, and found the
> reason: jabber.el checks whether the running Emacs is new enough to have
> password-cache.el by (fboundp 'password-read), but this function is not
> autoloaded.  The problem is masked if you use Gnus.
>
> Thus I propose that at least `password-read' be autoloaded, possibly
> others as well.
>
> (Accusations of me being a misguided elisp programmer are welcome,
> especially with suggestions of better ways to check for this feature.)

I could not say whether password-read should be autoloaded, but for
something that is not autoloaded, I would use:

(and (require 'password-cache nil t)
     (fboundp 'password-read)
     ... )

If just the presence of password-cache.el is enough, you can omit the
second line.

bug#3767: 23.0.94; Functions in password-cache should be autoloaded

[Chong Yidong]

> I was wondering why jabber.el didn't cache my password, even though I
> set password-cache and password-cache-expiry correctly, and found the
> reason: jabber.el checks whether the running Emacs is new enough to have
> password-cache.el by (fboundp 'password-read), but this function is not
> autoloaded.  The problem is masked if you use Gnus.
>
> Thus I propose that at least `password-read' be autoloaded, possibly
> others as well.

I think jabber.el should use the NOERROR argument to `require':

  (if (require 'password-cache nil t)
      use-password-cache
    do-alternative)

bug#3767: 23.0.94; Functions in password-cache should be autoloaded

[Stefan Monnier]

>> I was wondering why jabber.el didn't cache my password, even though I
>> set password-cache and password-cache-expiry correctly, and found the
>> reason: jabber.el checks whether the running Emacs is new enough to have
>> password-cache.el by (fboundp 'password-read), but this function is not
>> autoloaded.  The problem is masked if you use Gnus.
>> 
>> Thus I propose that at least `password-read' be autoloaded, possibly
>> others as well.

> I think jabber.el should use the NOERROR argument to `require':

>   (if (require 'password-cache nil t)
>       use-password-cache
>     do-alternative)

To provide yet another opinion, I'd personally favor


   (ignore-errors (require 'password-cache))
   or
   (require 'password-cache nil t)

followed later on by

   (if (fboundp 'password-read)
       ...
     ...)


-- Stefan