Subject: Re: bug#63536: Feature Request

From: Payas Relekar <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 17 May 2023 19:34:06 +0530

Eli Zaretskii <[email-masked]> writes:

> So you want a command to check whether a newer Emacs is available?
> But where should this command look?  Many (most?) people install
> precompiled binaries prepared by their distros, and I assume those
> distros have their "check for updates" service or something?
>
> We could check on the GNU FTP site, but how many users will want to
> download and build Emacs from sources?
>
> What do other people think about this?

The idea itself is valid, as long as the update check happens only at
explicit user action. The command should only compare current version of
Emacs with the latest update and inform user about the difference. Then
the onus is on user to proceed with the update. Command output can point
them to relevant section of the manual, informing of ways to install
(and also update) Emacs.

Optionally, this function can be run at startup for automated update
check, opt-in by default, of course. I believe that will match the
behavior of 'most' proprietary IDEs.

The idea of Emacs setup/startup screen shines with stuff like this,
where these options are selected by user at the very beginning. This can
even be included in current startup screen as simple hyperlink, IMO and
would be a worthy addition.

It can also optionally include updating all the activated *ELPAs.

Perhaps it can be called something like `emacs-check-update`?

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