Thank you! The function x-server-version indeed serves my needs. You are right, no need to have non-standard behaviour for the system-configuration variable. In hindsight it is even documented in an obvious place. However, the wording in the documentation of x-server-version and x-server-vendor is a little confusing (the relevant snippets are included at the end of this mail): - The elisp manual says "specifically about X displays". I would expect a word about mswindows here. - The docstring of x-server-version is compatible with that, but I would again expect a word about mswindows. - The docstring of x-server-vendor seems to ONLY mention W32 and Microsoft. I would expect more or less the same text as in the elisp manual with an extra remark about W32. Best regards, Albert. From elisp manual: "Display Feature Testing": --8><--------------- These functions obtain additional information specifically about X displays. -- Function: x-server-version &optional display This function returns the list of version numbers of the X server running the display. The value is a list of three integers: the major and minor version numbers of the X protocol, and the distributor-specific release number of the X server software itself. -- Function: x-server-vendor &optional display This function returns the "vendor" that provided the X server software (as a string). Really this means whoever distributes the X server. When the developers of X labeled software distributors as "vendors", they showed their false assumption that no system could ever be developed and distributed noncommercially. --8><--------------- And in the docstring of both of them it says: --8><--------------- x-server-version is a built-in function in `w32fns.c'. (x-server-version &optional DISPLAY) Return the version numbers of the server of DISPLAY. The value is a list of three integers: the major and minor version numbers of the X Protocol in use, and the distributor-specific release number. See also the function `x-server-vendor'. The optional argument DISPLAY specifies which display to ask about. DISPLAY should be either a frame or a display name (a string). If omitted or nil, that stands for the selected frame's display. [forward] --8><--------------- --8><--------------- x-server-vendor is a built-in function in `w32fns.c'. (x-server-vendor &optional DISPLAY) Return the "vendor ID" string of the W32 system (Microsoft). The optional argument DISPLAY specifies which display to ask about. DISPLAY should be either a frame or a display name (a string). If omitted or nil, that stands for the selected frame's display. [back] --8><--------------- On 4 January 2015 at 16:57, Eli Zaretskii wrote: > > Date: Sun, 4 Jan 2015 10:55:14 +0100 > > From: Albert > > > > Evaluating (insert system-configuration) gives > > in emacs 24.3: i386-mingw-nt6.2.9200 > > in emacs 24.4: i686-pc-mingw32 > > > > The important difference here is the absence of the "nt6.2.9200" part in > > emacs 24.4. I have use cases that need to know the version of the > > windows emacs is currently running on. I would therefore prefer > > something like "i686-pc-mingw32-nt6.2.9200" if that is somehow better or > > more accurate than the original string from 24.3. Perhaps the "pc" part > > is not needed? > > The native MS-Windows build of Emacs now uses the same code as on > other platforms to compute this string, so the OS version is not > included. > > I fixed the doc string, thanks for pointing out the discrepancy. > > > In emacs 24.4, the docstring for the variable system-configuration is: > > "system-configuration is a variable defined in `C source code'. > > Its value is "i686-pc-mingw32" > > > > Documentation: > > Value is string indicating configuration Emacs was built for. > > On MS-Windows, the value reflects the OS flavor and version on which > > Emacs is running." > > > > I would prefer if this docstring would remain correct. > > > > But, while checking the contents of this entire mail, I see a version > > number of 6.3.9600 reported just a few lines below. > > Exactly. So in fact the OS version in old value was redundant, and no > information is lost with this change. > > > Could it be that the windows version reported in the > > system-configuration variable of emacs 24.3 is the version under > > which that emacs was build? > > No, it reported the version of the OS where Emacs was running. > > > So it seems the old emacs 24.3 behaviour is not following the > > docstring either. > > It will in the next release. > > > Still, I would prefer it if the variable could live up to its > > current docstring, if possible. > > Given that the information you want is still available, both in the > bug report and independently (see below), why would you need that > information in system-configuration as well? > > > If that is not possible, is there another way of asking emacs on > > which windows version it is running? Is it documented somewhere > > where I could find it? The bug-reporting code obviously manages to > > do it, but when I searched for alternatives yesterday I couldn't > > find any. > > You want x-server-version (a function), it is what report-emacs-bug > calls to get that info. >