Re: [PATCH] Add file-dwim.

[Random832 <random832@fastmail.com>]

Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org> writes:
>> Can call-process return the stdout of the process in a string, as
>> shell-command-to-string does?
>
> Yes, of course.  See its documentation: the output could go into a
> buffer, a string, a file, or the null device.

I looked at the documentation. As far as I can tell, you can specify
where the output goes with the following types of argument:

- A buffer
- A string *which names a buffer*
- t, which selects the current buffer.
- A list which names a file
- nil, which discards the output
- 0, which discards the output and backgrounds the process
- A list that does any of the above with stdout and something else with stderr

Nowhere is a way to get the output *as a string* mentioned. There may or
may not be a perfectly safe and efficient way to use a temporary buffer
or file to get a string, but those aren't being accomplished by the
call-process function itself.