GNU bug report logs - #3370
23.0.94; `comment-region' indents comment chars inappropriately

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Message #88 received at 3370 <at> emacsbugs.donarmstrong.com (full text, mbox):

From: "Drew Adams" <drew.adams <at> oracle.com>
To: "'Stefan Monnier'" <monnier <at> IRO.UMontreal.CA>
Cc: <3370 <at> debbugs.gnu.org>,
        "'Chong Yidong'" <cyd <at> stupidchicken.com>,
        "'Jason Rumney'" <jasonr <at> gnu.org>,
        "'Dan Nicolaescu'" <dann <at> ics.uci.edu>, <rms <at> gnu.org>
Subject: RE: bug#3370: 23.0.94; `comment-region' indents comment chars  inappropriately
Date: Mon, 25 May 2009 14:56:37 -0700

> Yes, I know that.
> 
> > Commenting out this line:
> >   `abcdef'
> > gives this, prior to Emacs 23:
> > ;;   `abcdef'
> > Commenting out the line is different from inserting a comment at the
> > same level:
> >   ;;
> >   `abcdef'
> 
> I know.  Yet, most cases of commented-out code would use
> 
>     ;; `abcdef'

No, that was not an example of commenting-out code. It was an example of
inserting a comment - as I said.

> Obviously, you don't like it, just like Richard doesn't like it.  I do
> believe you're in the minority, tho.

No, you're mistaken. I don't really care one way or the other about it.

The information that was missing (and is still missing) is about `comment-style'
and `comment-styles'. You gave me a solution for the code I have, but still no
explanation of `comment-style'. There is still no doc for it.

I don't need to use a different value of `comment-style' for my own use
interactively - I don't really care whether the commented lines are indented or
not. (At least I don't have a preference at the moment.) My question was about
use of `comment-region' in code, not interactively. See the original bug
report's use case.

The real bug I guess is that there is no explanation of `comment-style'.
Whenever things like this change, there is the potential (almost the certainty)
that existing code will break, as it did in my case. My real need, I came to
realize here, is not that `comment-region' act, by default, as it did before,
but that I know how to fix the broken code due to its behavior change. The
answer was to bind `comment-style', as you suggested.

But there is no explanation, hence no understanding, of that answer - no doc for
`comment-style'. And, as I said, the doc string for `comment-style' (which is
pretty much useless) refers to `comment-styles', which is not recognized (and
therefore has no link).

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