Subject: Documentation for emacs-version
From: goncholden <[email-masked]>
To: Drew Adams <[email-masked]>, "[email-masked]" <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 02 Feb 2022 10:03:29 +0000
List-Id: <debbugs-submit.debbugs.gnu.org>

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

On Tuesday, February 1st, 2022 at 5:49 PM, Drew Adams <[email-masked]> wrote:

> I am looking up documentation for emacs-version. But cannot understand the
>
> meaning of
>
> If optional argument HERE is non-nil, insert string at point.
>
> Doc:
>
> (emacs-version &optional HERE)
>
> Probably introduced at or before Emacs version 19.20.
>
> Return string describing the version of Emacs that is running.
>
> If optional argument HERE is non-nil, insert string at point.

This is the doc string for Emacs 27.2 (the latest release):

Return string describing the version of Emacs that is running.

If optional argument HERE is non-nil, insert string at point.

Don’t use this function in programs to choose actions according

to the system configuration; look at ‘system-configuration’ instead.

But it's still a poor doc string. It should, first

of all, describe the interactive use. It should say:

With a prefix argument, insert string at point.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Only after that interactive description should it

give the Emacs-Lisp description of argument HERE:

When called from Lisp, optional argument HERE

corresponds to the prefix argument.

Consider filing a (doc) bug report for this:

`M-x report-emacs-bug'.