Re: Using "Emacs Configure" **and** modifying .emacs

[<tomas@tuxteam.de>]

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On Sat, Aug 12, 2017 at 02:15:22AM +0200, Emanuel Berg wrote:
> Drew Adams wrote:
> 
> > And that's not hard to do: just use
> > `customize-variable' instead of `setq', for
> > user options. How hard is that? If you want
> > something shorter, define an alias...
> 
> I don't think it is about being difficult, or
> long, rather what is the benefit?

I think Drew has explained that pretty well. Besides,
the "defcustom" ("15.3 Defining Customization Variables"
node in the elisp doc does a good job, too.

> What kind of function(s) get triggered? Is it
> to ensure the new value of the variable makes
> sense? That is, some variant of validating
> the input?

Yes. (The :type arg of defcustom)

> Or is it to control behavior in a wider sense,
> so that some function, that does something, is
> set to something depending on the value of
> the variable?

Yes. (Among others, :set, but also perhaps :initialize,
:set-after, etc.)

> If it is about validation, i.e. making sure the
> variable value makes sense (is within some
> range or have a certain type; is a member of
> the input domain set) then I never bothered
> with that.

Some dont want a validation to explode deep whithin
the guts of some module loaded by another module,
where the user has no clue about what the heck is
going on, but next to the place where a variable
is being set to a value it's not supposed to have.

Sometimes I can sympathize with that :-)

Cheers
- -- t
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