GNU bug report logs - #26233
26.0.50; [PATCH] Improve documentation for display-buffer-alist

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Message #38 received at 26233 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: martin rudalics <rudalics <at> gmx.at>
To: Drew Adams <drew.adams <at> oracle.com>, Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>, 
 Jens Lechtenboerger <lechten <at> wi.uni-muenster.de>
Cc: 26233 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#26233: 26.0.50;
 [PATCH] Improve documentation for display-buffer-alist
Date: Sun, 26 Mar 2017 10:38:25 +0200

> 2. I _did_ object at the time.

Sorry, but the time was 2011 and at that time I wrote ...

  Your approach will divide Emacs users into two groups: A wide majority
  that continues to use the old options and a small minority able to write
  their own alist based functions.

... and ...

  Most of what you propose above is easily available in Emacs 23 via
  `special-display-regexps'.  An application would just temporarily add
  the buffer, the function, and the alist to the head of that and get the
  behavior without setting any arguments.  Is it really worth inventing a
  new `display-buffer' in order to resolve such cosmetic issues?

You did not bother to participate in that discussion and so you did not
object at the time.

> `display-buffer-alist' is notoriously difficult to
> understand and make use of.  As one example, though I've
> asked several times how to use it to get the same effect
> provided by these options I've never gotten a response.
>
> That's the first step for Emacs to take, IMO, after
> undeprecating these options (as well as anything else
> "special-display", of course, such as
> `special-display-alist'): State in the doc exactly how
> they correspond to a special case of using
> `display-buffer-alist'.  _Show_ the equivalence.

Despite the fact that many years ago I moved these options and the
corresponding functions from C to Elisp, I still don't understand them
and very likely never will.  If you asked me how to obtain a specific
behavior with ‘display-buffer-alist’, I might be able to come up with an
answer.  In any case I deeply regret that I ever got involved in this.

martin

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