Subject: bug#35360: 26.2; Default bindings of `A' and `Q' in Dired, for MS Windows users

From: Eli Zaretskii <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 22 Apr 2019 09:11:16 +0300

> Date: Sun, 21 Apr 2019 12:53:04 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Drew Adams <[email-masked]>
> Cc: [email-masked]
> 
> > > Patches welcome to use Lisp replacements for 'find' and 'grep' on
> > > Windows (with a defcustom that will allow to use the external programs
> > > when they are available).
> > 
> > Something like ls-lisp? Yes, that would be useful. We shall change the
> > title of this bug report, or divide it even into two reports, for
> > find-lisp and grep-lisp.
> 
> That would be good.  But please create separate bug
> reports for such enhancements.  Don't just retitle
> this thread and change its meaning.
> 
> This bug thread is about the binding of commands that
> cannot possibly work out of the box for MS Windows
> users, where by out-of-the-box I mean without knowing
> that they need to install some additional software
> and then installing that.
> 
> And this thread is about the broken repurposing of
> bindings that previously worked for such users - and
> whose previous commands still work for them (and for
> everyone else).

If you think that discussing ways to fix the problem for Windows users
who don't have 'find' and 'grep' does not belong to this bug report,
then why did you file this bug report?  Isn't fixing the problem the
goal of this report?  If not, what is its goal?

> However you look at it, until/unless the enhancement
> requests that Michael suggests are available this bug
> needs fixing.  MS Windows users have lost something,
> out of the box, at least.

We are discussing how to provide that.  What is it that you don't like
about this discussion?

> As the first line of this thread says, "Shouldn't the
> default bindings of `A' and `Q' DTRT on MS Windows out
> of the box?"  That's what this bug is about.  How the
> bug gets fixed is another matter.

Saying that we should fix it by replacing 'find' and 'grep' in Lisp
answers that question in my book.  By fixing the bug we acknowledge
that the answer to the question is positive.

> If we won't restore `A' and `Q' to what they were before
> for everyone (and Eli says we won't) then can we not do
> something else to restore/replace what we broke for
> Windows users by changing their bindings to commands
> that they can use?  That is, not change `A' and `Q' back
> for everyone, but do so for those that need a workaround.

This is the wrong way of fixing the problem, and therefore we won't do
it, as I said in my previous message.