Drew Adams <drew.adams@oracle.com> writes:
>
>> > Please also update the doc of `dired-omit-files' to make clear that its
>> > default value only approximately matches auto-save files (and lock
>> > files?), and that even this is true only for the default naming regime
>> > for auto-save files.
>> 
>> I don't understand this part.  Concretely, what is missing in the doc
>> string, and why do you think it is necessary to add whatever is
>> missing?
>
> The default value is "^\\.?#\\|^\\.$\\|^\\.\\.$".
>
> \\.?# matches only the first char of an auto-save file
> name, and the first two chars of a lock file name.  It
> does not match the full name, requiring it to end with
> `#'.  That means that (1) it cannot be used as is for,
> say, font-locking such a (complete) name, and (2) as
> it is now, it can falsely identify files that are not
> auto-save or lock files.

It's a regexp, so of course you can name files which aren't auto-save or
lock files in such a way that they match it.

> And it does not necessarily match auto-save file names
> at all, as they can be nearly anything, it seems:
>
> (elisp) `Auto-Saving' makes a point of saying that each
> of  `auto-save-file-name-p' and `make-auto-save-file-name'
> exists "so that you can customize it if you wish to change
> the naming convention for auto-save files".  And for each
> it reminds us "If you redefine it, be sure to redefine the
> [other] function ... correspondingly."
>
> IOW, apparently the `#...#' is conventional but users are
> practically invited to adopt alternative naming schemes.

How about we stop inviting that?  It sounds like something from before
user options were invented, and messing around with auto-save functions
kind of seems like asking for trouble.