GNU bug report logs - #59248
29.0.50; apropos lists keywords as if they were variables

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Message #8 received at 59248 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>
To: Thibault Polge <thibault <at> thb.lt>
Cc: 59248 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#59248: 29.0.50;
 apropos lists keywords as if they were variables
Date: Sun, 13 Nov 2022 20:09:43 +0200

> From: Thibault Polge <thibault <at> thb.lt>
> Date: Sun, 13 Nov 2022 17:56:09 +0100
> 
> On a very recent (about yesterday) Emacs from HEAD, apropos lists
> interned keywords as undocumented variables.  Eg, the following
> invocation:
> 
> M-x apropos RET distant-foreground RET
> 
> displays the following output:
> 
> > Type RET on a type label to view its full documentation.
> >
> > :distant-foreground
> >  Variable: (not documented)
> >  Value: :distant-foreground
> 
> This is technically correct --- keywords are variable-ish

"M-x apropos" is not just about variables.  It's about any symbol that
matches a regexp.

> but quite useless.  At best, keywords just add noise to `apropos`
> output.  At worst, they may be misleading, since an user may assume
> they can somehow control something by setq'ing a keyword.

How can Emacs know that the user didn't actually _want_ to look up a
keyword?  It is not impossible.

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