Re: Stability of core packages (was: Not easy at all to upgrade :core packages like Eglot)

[Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>]

> Date: Wed, 19 Apr 2023 21:14:06 +0300
> Cc: arne_bab@web.de, jporterbugs@gmail.com, emacs-devel@gnu.org
> From: Dmitry Gutov <dmitry@gutov.dev>
> 
> On 19/04/2023 21:07, Eli Zaretskii wrote:
> > It has similar problems: it will automatically update packages
> > mentioned in package--safely-upgradeable-builtins, which might not be
> > what users want for built-in packages.
> 
> IMO that kind of choice could be deferred to the maintainer of each 
> individual package.

No, it cannot, and this and the sibling discussions show why: the
package maintainers are biased in favor of their packages.  That
(completely understandable and expected) bias prevents them from
seeing the overall picture objectively.

> Or make it a defcustom if you're really worried.

That doesn't change the picture, unless the default for the defcustom
will be nil.  Which I expect João to object to, because he wants Eglot
to be updated by default and automatically.  Whereas I think the
compromise, whereby the user should say just once that he/she wants
Eglot to be automatically updated, is a good compromise given the
constraints in this case.  Not ideal, but a good-enough compromise.

> BTW, even choosing that patch where this user option is a defcustom 
> defaulting to nil would make more sense to me than the patch we 
> currently decided to install.

See above.

> > You assume that everyone will
> > want Eglot and use-package automatically updated, but this assumption
> > has no real basis.
> 
> People don't call 'M-x package-install' automatically, nor do they put 
> those calls in their init files automatically.

That's factually incorrect, AFAIU.  Moreover, the cases that bothered
João (again, AFAIU) were exactly those which you say don't exist.