GNU bug report logs - #4030
forward-sexp parses character literal ?; as comment

Previous Next

Full log

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

From: era+emacsbugs <at> iki.fi
To: submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: forward-sexp parses character literal ?; as comment
Date: Tue, 04 Aug 2009 15:07:22 +0300

Package: emacs
Version: 23.1.50.1
Severity: normal
X-Debbugs-Cc: era+emacsbugs <at> iki.fi

This is a pared-down version of Ubuntu bug report #405498
https://bugs.launchpad.net/bugs/405498 -- please see the URL for the
full bug report.

It seems that forward-sexp (and its underlying C implementation) does
not cope correctly with a character literal semicolon, seeing instead
(effectively) end of line.

In the *scratch* buffer if you write (insert ?;) you can evaluate this
Lisp code and it behaves as intended (inserts a semicolon in the current
buffer) but doing M-x forward-sexp just before the expression results in
an "Unbalanced parentheses" error.

This causes problems e.g. when Customize wants to edit an .emacs file
which contains the character constant ?; anywhere in it, because
Customize uses forward-sexp to parse the user's .emacs file.

/* era */

-- 
If this were a real .signature, it would suck less.  Well, maybe not.

/* era */

-- 
If this were a real .signature, it would suck less.  Well, maybe not.

Previous Next

GNU bug tracking system
Copyright (C) 1999 Darren O. Benham, 1997,2003 nCipher Corporation Ltd, 1994-97 Ian Jackson.