GNU bug report logs - #1797
23.0.60; completing-read breaks backwards compatibility

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Message #5 received at submit <at> emacsbugs.donarmstrong.com (full text, mbox):

From: Ulrich Mueller <ulm <at> gentoo.org>
To: emacs-pretest-bug <at> gnu.org
Subject: 23.0.60; completing-read breaks backwards compatibility
Date: Tue, 6 Jan 2009 00:53:31 +0100

>>>>> On Mon, 05 Jan 2009, Stefan Monnier wrote:

>> Also, the different behaviour of `completing-read' breaks backwards
>> compatibility. In fact, I stumbled across this because of some lisp
>> code doing "programmed completion", which doesn't work properly
>> with Emacs 23 anymore (because it accounts only for nil, t, and
>> `lambda').

> The intention is for it to 100% backwards compatible. So please
> report this bug.

Here we go.
To reproduce the problem, eval the following code:

(defvar my-keywords '("foo" "bar" "baz" "quux" "quuux"))

(defun my-complete (s pred mode)
  (string-match "^\\(.*\\s-\\)?\\(.*\\)$" s)
  (let* ((s1 (match-string 1 s))
	 (s2 (match-string 2 s))
	 (c2 (funcall
	      (cond ((null mode) 'try-completion)
		    ((eq mode t) 'all-completions)
		    ((eq mode 'lambda)
		     (if (fboundp 'test-completion)
			 'test-completion
		       ;; XEmacs doesn't have test-completion
		       (lambda (&rest args)
			 (eq (apply 'try-completion args) t))))
		    (t 'ignore))
	      s2
	      (mapcar (lambda (x) (list (concat x " ")))
		      my-keywords)
	      pred)))
    (if (stringp c2) (concat s1 c2) c2)))

(completing-read "Type some keywords: " 'my-complete)

Now type at the minibuffer prompt:
   f TAB b TAB TAB

Emacs 21/22 (and XEmacs) behaviour:
   Minibuffer: "Type some keywords: foo ba"
   *Completions* buffer offers "bar" and "baz" as completions.

Emacs 23.0.60 behaviour:
   Minibuffer: "Type some keywords: foo ba [No completions]"
   (and no *Completions* buffer appears)

Message #10 received at submit <at> emacsbugs.donarmstrong.com (full text, mbox):

From: Stefan Monnier <monnier <at> iro.umontreal.ca>
To: Ulrich Mueller <ulm <at> gentoo.org>
Cc: 1797 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, emacs-pretest-bug <at> gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#1797: 23.0.60; completing-read breaks backwards compatibility
Date: Mon, 05 Jan 2009 23:24:54 -0500

>> The intention is for it to 100% backwards compatible. So please
>> report this bug.

> Here we go.
> To reproduce the problem, eval the following code:

Thanks.  I installed a change which I believe should fix this bug.
Note that your completion function is a prime example of a completion
table that needs completion-boundaries in order to work right.
E.g. with the function as it is defined, the *Completions* buffer has
several bugs: clicking on "bar" will replace "foo ba" with "bar" rather
than with "foo bar", and the completions-common-part hilighting
is incorrect.

If you add the code below:

> (defun my-complete (s pred mode)
>   (string-match "^\\(.*\\s-\\)?\\(.*\\)$" s)
>   (let* ((s1 (match-string 1 s))
> 	 (s2 (match-string 2 s))
> 	 (c2 (funcall
> 	      (cond ((null mode) 'try-completion)
> 		    ((eq mode t) 'all-completions)
> 		    ((eq mode 'lambda)
> 		     (if (fboundp 'test-completion)
> 			 'test-completion
> 		       ;; XEmacs doesn't have test-completion
> 		       (lambda (&rest args)
> 			 (eq (apply 'try-completion args) t))))

                    ((eq (car-safe mode) 'boundaries)
                     (lexical-let* ((suffix (cdr mode))
                                    (start (or (match-end 1) 0))
                                    (end (string-match "\\s-" suffix)))
                       (lambda (s table pred)
                         `(boundaries ,start . ,end))))

> 		    (t 'ignore))
> 	      s2
> 	      (mapcar (lambda (x) (list (concat x " ")))
> 		      my-keywords)
> 	      pred)))
>     (if (stringp c2) (concat s1 c2) c2)))

You'll see that the completions-common-part highlighting is correct, and
you can even complete "fo ba" to "foo ba" if point is after "fo" when
you hit TAB.


        Stefan

Message #20 received at submit <at> emacsbugs.donarmstrong.com (full text, mbox):

From: Ulrich Mueller <ulm <at> gentoo.org>
To: Stefan Monnier <monnier <at> iro.umontreal.ca>
Cc: 1797 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, emacs-pretest-bug <at> gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#1797: 23.0.60; completing-read breaks backwards compatibility
Date: Tue, 6 Jan 2009 10:34:52 +0100

>>>>> On Mon, 05 Jan 2009, Stefan Monnier wrote:

> Thanks.  I installed a change which I believe should fix this bug.

I confirm that today's CVS trunk is working as expected.

> Note that your completion function is a prime example of a completion
> table that needs completion-boundaries in order to work right.

>                     ((eq (car-safe mode) 'boundaries)
>                      (lexical-let* ((suffix (cdr mode))
>                                     (start (or (match-end 1) 0))
>                                     (end (string-match "\\s-" suffix)))
>                        (lambda (s table pred)
>                          `(boundaries ,start . ,end))))

Hey, I had already come to a very similar solution: ;-)

 (defun my-complete (s pred mode)
   (string-match "^\\(.*\\s-\\)?\\(.*\\)$" s)
+  (if (eq (car-safe mode) 'boundaries) ; GNU Emacs 23
+      (cons 'boundaries
+            (cons (match-beginning 2)
+                  (string-match "\\s-" (cdr mode))))
   (let* ((s1 (match-string 1 s))
          (s2 (match-string 2 s))

It cost me quite some time to get this right, because of the missing
documentation.

Ulrich

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