Subject: bug#45260: 28.0.50; Maybe flex should only sort when there is no sorting metadata?

From: João Távora <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 28 Sep 2021 01:36:38 +0100

Dmitry Gutov <[email-masked]> writes:

> On 28.09.2021 02:25, João Távora wrote:
>
> It's an example of a user trying to write a completion table (to be
> consumed by company-capf, as they usually are)

Hm? A table is consumed by any capf-capable frontend. That's not limited
to `company-capf'.

> with sorting logic and tripping over the flex style overriding it.

But where is the "tripping" if, to the best of my knowledge (and given
that you chose this specific Emacs bug), the complaint is about
something that the flex style was designed to do from the very
beginning?  That thing is sort, first and foremost, by how well the
pattern entered by the user matches each candidate.  Doesn't this user
like that?  If not, it's fine.  But not appreciating a behaviour doesn't
count as "tripping over" to me.

> You should read it (the last few messages will suffice).

I tried to, it's full of references to company internals that I can't
evaluate.  Is the user writing a table specifically for company?  Or
modifying company?  Or both?  I must understand it in terms of a simpler
example.

> flex is popular enough. People use it. I end up having to diagnose
> people's problems.

OK, I sympathize with that.  I can see you indeed invest many hours.

> Having many similar-but-slightly-different styles available is
> unlikely to reduce my support burdens.

But "reducing your support burdens" cannot come at the cost of breaking
existing behaviour.  Look at the simple 5-line examples I gave to Omar
(to which there was no reply, unfortunately).  I expect those examples
to sort in a certain way, and I guess Omar would to like them some other
way.

What is the problem with you telling those users to use 'pikachu'
instead of 'flex'?  Or tell them to set a hypothetical variable
flex-prefer-table-sorting to t?

I also suggest that people: "if you're writing a completion table, make
sure you try it without company as well".

João