Subject: 23.0.60; Doc strings of mode-name, mode-line-format and format-mode-line

From: Eli Zaretskii <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 14 Oct 2008 14:19:53 +0200

Please write in English if possible, because the Emacs maintainers
usually do not have translators to read other languages for them.

Your bug report will be posted to the [email-masked] mailing list.

Please describe exactly what actions triggered the bug
and the precise symptoms of the bug:

"C-h v mode-name RET" produces:

    mode-name is a variable defined in `buffer.c'.
    Its value is "Emacs-Lisp"
    Local in buffer bindings.el; global value is 0

      Automatically becomes buffer-local when set in any fashion.

    Documentation:
    Pretty name of current buffer's major mode.
    Usually a string.  See `mode-line-format' for other possible forms.
    Use the function `format-mode-line' to get the value as a string.

The line before the last refers to mode-line-format for possible forms
of mode-name.  However, nothing in the doc string of mode-line-format
says anything specific about the form of mode-name, and neither does
the doc string of format-mode-line say anything about how to produce a
string out of mode-name.

In general, I loathe references to other doc strings for important
information: it's a nuisance to chase multiple links when you need to
do a simple job such as displaying the mode name.  Unless the
information is large and complex, it is better to reproduce it where
it is needed, even if that requires some duplication.

If Emacs crashed, and you have the Emacs process in the gdb debugger,
please include the output from the following gdb commands:
    `bt full' and `xbacktrace'.
If you would like to further debug the crash, please read the file
d:/gnu/emacs/etc/DEBUG for instructions.

In GNU Emacs 23.0.60.1 (i386-mingw-nt5.1.2600)
 of 2008-10-14 on HOME-C4E4A596F7
Windowing system distributor `Microsoft Corp.', version 5.1.2600
configured using `configure --with-gcc (3.4)'

Important settings:
  value of $LC_ALL: nil
  value of $LC_COLLATE: nil
  value of $LC_CTYPE: nil
  value of $LC_MESSAGES: nil
  value of $LC_MONETARY: nil
  value of $LC_NUMERIC: nil
  value of $LC_TIME: nil
  value of $LANG: ENU
  value of $XMODIFIERS: nil
  locale-coding-system: cp1255
  default-enable-multibyte-characters: t

Major mode: Emacs-Lisp

Minor modes in effect:
  show-paren-mode: t
  tooltip-mode: t
  tool-bar-mode: t
  mouse-wheel-mode: t
  menu-bar-mode: t
  file-name-shadow-mode: t
  global-font-lock-mode: t
  font-lock-mode: t
  blink-cursor-mode: t
  global-auto-composition-mode: t
  auto-composition-mode: t
  auto-encryption-mode: t
  auto-compression-mode: t
  line-number-mode: t
  transient-mark-mode: t

Recent input:
<down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> 
<down> <down> <down> <down> <up> <up> <up> <up> <up> 
<up> <up> <up> <up> <up> <up> <up> <up> <up> <prior> 
C-x C-f <M-backspace> <M-backspace> l i s <tab> / b 
i n d <tab> <return> C-s m o d e <M-left> <next> <next> 
C-s m a j <up> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> 
<down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> 
<down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> 
<down> <down> <down> <next> C-s C-s <up> <down> <down> 
<down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> 
<down> <down> <down> <up> <up> <up> <up> <up> <up> 
<up> <up> <up> <up> <up> <up> <up> <up> <down> <down> 
<down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> 
<down> <down> <down> <prior> <prior> <prior> <next> 
<next> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> 
<down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> 
<down> <down> <down> <down> <up> <up> <up> <up> <up> 
<up> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> 
<down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> 
<down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> 
<down> <down> <down> <next> <next> <next> <up> <down> 
<down> <C-right> <C-right> <C-right> C-h v <return> 
C-x o <down> <down> <left> <left> <down> <down> <down> 
<down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> 
<down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <up> 
<up> <up> <up> <up> <up> <up> <down> <down> <down> 
<down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> <down> 
<down> <down> <down> <down> <next> <next> <prior> <prior> 
<next> <next> <next> <next> <prior> <next> <next> <next> 
<next> <next> <next> <next> C-x o <up> <up> C-h v m 
o d e - n a e <backspace> m e <return> <help-echo> 
<help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> 
M-x e m a c s - r e p o <tab> <M-backspace> <M-backspace> 
r e p o r t <tab> <return>

Recent messages:
Making completion list...
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Type C-x 4 C-o RET to restore the other window, C-M-v to scroll help.