bug#18915: 24.3; Feature: Prompt to make executable on write-file

[Ed Avis <eda@waniasset.com>]

You suggested

    (add-hook 'after-save-hook
              'executable-make-buffer-file-executable-if-script-p)

That is useful, but it does make *all* newly created shebang files executable.
Which could be considered mildly dangerous; in other words, this hook cannot be on by default in a vanilla Emacs.

I suggest that Emacs usability would be improved by prompting to make a file executable,
and that since this is both safe and beginner-friendly (and doesn't get in the way of experts,
who will surely also want the execute bit on their scripts most of the time) it could be made
part of the default Emacs configuration.

It is not that important whether 'scriptness' is detected by looking for a shebang line or
by whether the file originally visited had the execute bit set.  In practice either test would
give the same effect.

-- 
Ed Avis <eda@waniasset.com>

______________________________________________________________________
This email has been scanned by the Symantec Email Security.cloud service.
For more information please visit http://www.symanteccloud.com
______________________________________________________________________