GNU bug report logs - #394
wdired-change-to-wdired-mode can cause file deletion

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From: help-debbugs <at> gnu.org (Emacs bug Tracking System)
To: xah lee <xah <at> xahlee.org>
Subject: bug#394 closed by Stefan Monnier <monnier <at> iro.umontreal.ca> (Re: 
 bug#394: wdired-change-to-wdired-mode can cause file deletion)

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This is an automatic notification regarding your bug report
which was filed against the emacs package:

#394: wdired-change-to-wdired-mode can cause file deletion

It has been closed by Stefan Monnier <monnier <at> iro.umontreal.ca>.

Their explanation is attached below along with your original report.
If this explanation is unsatisfactory and you have not received a
better one in a separate message then please contact Stefan Monnier <monnier <at> iro.umontreal.ca> by
replying to this email.


-- 
394: http://debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/bugreport.cgi?bug=394
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Contact help-debbugs <at> gnu.org with problems

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From: Stefan Monnier <monnier <at> iro.umontreal.ca>
To: 394-done <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#394: wdired-change-to-wdired-mode can cause file deletion
Date: Sat, 14 Jun 2008 13:01:52 -0400

> In dired, do M-x wdired-change-to-wdired-mode.
> Then, swap 2 files's names.
> Emacs will ask if the first file should be overwritten. If answer yes, it'll
> be deleted, and it wont be renamed. i.e. you lose a file.

Indeed, dired's rename is a "parallel" rename, whereas our underlying
C primitives only offer sequential renaming, so we need to de more work
to handle those cases.

I've installed a patch into the CVS trunk which should fix it (or at
least catch the problem before it's too late).


        Stefan

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From: xah lee <xah <at> xahlee.org>
To: bug-gnu-emacs <at> gnu.org
Subject: wdired-change-to-wdired-mode can cause file deletion
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2008 01:39:07 -0700

In dired, do M-x wdired-change-to-wdired-mode.

Then, swap 2 files's names.

Emacs will ask if the first file should be overwritten. If answer  
yes, it'll be deleted, and it wont be renamed. i.e. you lose a file.

This can be reproduced if you created 2 files, one named A and other  
B. Then renamed them to B and A. (Possibly you will need to create 3  
files and rename in particular cycle depending on how emacs choose  
the order to rename... The key is to get emacs to prompte for the  
overwrite of a file that should be renamed to something else later.)

This behavior is slightly unexpected and caused me to retrieve from  
my backup disk. (the files are images and never edited, so it isn't  
in emacs's backup)

  Xah
∑ http://xahlee.org/

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