Re: Option to not automatically customize-save-variable `package-selected-packages'

[Artur Malabarba <bruce.connor.am@gmail.com>]

Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org> writes:

>> No, because package.el will still call `package--save-selected-packages'
>> modifying the custom file, and the behaviour will depend on whether when
>> even though the variable has been set via `setq'. This will keep
>> the variable's value has been most recently set from the `setq' or from
>> Custom.
>
> Then I guess this is the problem we need to solve, right?  Customizing
> the list of packages via Lisp that doesn't use custom-set-variables
> ought to prevent Emacs from modifying the custom file.

This would allow people to set it via setq, but that's not the prevalent
complaint I see on this thread.

Another complaint I see is “I don't want my custom (or init) file being
programatically altered, for reason X”. These complaints don't want to
manually keep track of their packages with a `setq'. They want
package.el to keep working its magic automatically, but keep its hands
off their custom files.

>> Meanwhile, with regular customizations, the user can just turn the
>> `custom-set-variables' call into a `setq' and trust that Emacs won't
>> reintroduce that variable there.
>
> Now I'm confused: above you said "No" to my suggestion to do exactly
> this, but now you seem to say that suggestion would solve the problem?
> What did I miss?

This sentence is explaining why _regular custom variables_ don't have
the problem that `package-selected-packages' has.

- _Regular custom variables_ don't get saved to the custom file without
  explicit user request, so it's easy to turn them into `setq's (which
  is what you were discussing).

- OTOH, `package-selected-packages' _does_ get saved without explicit
  request, so it's hard for the user to turn it into a `setq'.