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From: "Drew Adams" <drew.adams@oracle.com>
To: "'Stefan Monnier'" <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca>
Cc: emacs-pretest-bug@gnu.org, 2792@emacsbugs.donarmstrong.com
Subject: bug#2792: 23.0.90; doc string of switch-to-buffer
Date: Thu, 26 Mar 2009 18:02:36 -0700	[thread overview]
Message-ID: <000d01c9ae77$b8452410$0200a8c0@us.oracle.com> (raw)
In-Reply-To: 

> > > Get rid of the word "WARNING" in the doc string. This is 
> > > just helpful information, not a warning. Warnings are for
> > > things that are inherently dangerous.
> >  
> > It's inherently dangerous, in the sense that if I see a call to
> > `switch-to-buffer' in some Elisp code, I know it's a bug 
> > (the counter examples are so rare they're not worth mentioning).
> 
> No, danger has nothing to do with this.
> 
> Knowing that something is a bug is not knowing that there is 
> a danger. A bug does not imply danger. Using "WARNING" for 
> something that is not a warning dilutes its meaning.
> 
> Use stronger language, if you like. Say, even, that it is 
> most likely a bug to use it in Lisp code (or even a 
> "****BUG!!!!****", if you're really so inclined). But don't 
> use "WARNING".
> 
> Use "WARNING" when you know that it is used in code that 
> controls trains on the same track or nuclear missiles or 
> anthrax tests. ;-)

Oh, BTW. Such diluted WARNINGs apparently do little good. That particular
"WARNING" has been in Emacs since at least Emacs 20, yet there are over 600 grep
hits for `switch-to-buffer' in the distributed Emacs 23 Lisp code.

So much for the Chicken Little approach.








      parent reply	other threads:[~2009-03-27  1:02 UTC|newest]

Thread overview: 4+ messages / expand[flat|nested]  mbox.gz  Atom feed  top
2009-03-26 20:39 bug#2792: 23.0.90; doc string of switch-to-buffer Drew Adams
2009-03-27  0:23 ` Stefan Monnier
2009-03-27  0:53   ` Drew Adams
2009-03-27  1:02   ` Drew Adams [this message]

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