Re: Interactive and successive completing-reads?

[Kevin Rodgers <ihs_4664@yahoo.com>]

Hattuari wrote:
 > I can use this code to prompt the user for successive inputs:
 >
 > (defun paste-gl-array(gl-type gl-order gl-vector)
 >   "Map OpenGL types to corresponding sufixes.(GL\'type\' )"
 >   (interactive "sType: \nnNumber 1 to 4: \nsVector: ")
 >   (message " gl-type=%s, gl-order=%d, gl-vector=%s, suffix=%s"
 >            gl-type gl-order gl-vector
 >            (assoc  gl-type gl-type-alist)))
 >
 >
 > I can uses this to prompt the user for specific strings which I 
provide in
 > gl-type-alist:
 >
 > (defvar gl-type nil)
 >
 > (defun gl-data-read ()
 >   "Read a GLdata type from the minibuffer: "
 >   (interactive)
 >   (setq gl-type (completing-read
 >                   "GL Data Type: "
 >                   gl-type-alist
 >                   nil t "GL"))
 >   (message "gl-type=%s" gl-type)
 >   )
 >
 > I would like to do both of the above in one invocation of an interactive
 > command.  Can this be done by somehow integrating the two forms above?
 > Should I, instead, simply evalueate successive `completing-read' 
forms from
 > one enclosing form and forget about using the first form above?

It depends.  The first form allows the user to enter any string, not
just a key from gl-type-alist.  Do you want to preserve that freedom for
the user?  If so, you can't combine them.

But the conventional way to write the second function is:

(defun gl-type-message (gl-type)
   (interactive (list (completing-read "GL Data Type: " gl-type-alist
                                       nil t "GL")))
   (message "gl-type=%s" gl-type))

-- 
Kevin Rodgers