GNU bug report logs - #16722
[(old?) cygwin] `M-x man' completion doesn't handle broken `man -k' gracefully

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From: Lars Ingebrigtsen <larsi <at> gnus.org>
To: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>
Cc: 16722 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, Wolfgang Jenkner <wjenkner <at> inode.at>
Subject: bug#16722: 24.3.50; `M-x man' does not handle case appropriately
Date: Fri, 25 Sep 2020 12:21:07 +0200

Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org> writes:

>> But `man -k' always works (to the extent we need it to) if the whatis
>> database is correctly installed.
>
> No, it doesn't.  For example, it isn't supported with this clone:
>
>   http://sourceforge.net/projects/ezwinports/files/man-1.4-bin.zip/download
>
> And, as demonstrated in this bug report, it can backfire when the
> database is not "correctly installed".

npostavs <at> users.sourceforge.net writes:

> I can't reproduce the problem here, as my cygwin's man -k prints only to
> stderr in this case.  Does checking exit status help?

[...]

> -         (setq table (Man-parse-man-k)))
> +           (when (eq 0
> +                      (ignore-errors
> +                        (call-process
> +                         manual-program nil '(t nil) nil
> +                         "-k" (concat (when (or Man-man-k-use-anchor
> +                                                (string-equal prefix ""))
> +                                        "^")
> +                                      prefix))))
> +              (setq table (Man-parse-man-k)))))

There was no followup on this patch, and I don't have a Windows system
to test with.  Eli, would this patch fix the problem both with the
uninstalled whereis database and the ezwinports version of man?

-- 
(domestic pets only, the antidote for overdose, milk.)
   bloggy blog: http://lars.ingebrigtsen.no

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