GNU bug report logs - #65685
29.1; Inconsistent behavior of quoted file name "/:~" across platforms

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From: Michael Albinus <michael.albinus <at> gmx.de>
To: Jim Porter <jporterbugs <at> gmail.com>
Cc: 65685 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: bug#65685: 29.1; Inconsistent behavior of quoted file name "/:~" across platforms
Date: Tue, 03 Oct 2023 13:22:10 +0200

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Jim Porter <jporterbugs <at> gmail.com> writes:

Hi Jim,

> To see this in action, run 'emacs -Q "/:~"' on both GNU/Linux and
> MS-Windows.[1] On GNU/Linux, this opens a dired buffer for the user's
> home directory. On MS-Windows, it opens a buffer for a new file named
> tilde.
>
> According to the Emacs manual:
>
>> ‘/:’ can also prevent ‘~’ from being treated as a special character
>> for a user’s home directory. For example, /:/tmp/~hack refers to a
>> file whose name is ~hack in directory /tmp.
> I'd interpret this to mean that the MS-Windows behavior is
> correct. However, the example doesn't specifically say what should
> happen when the tilde comes immediately after the "/:". On the very
> rare occasions you might need it, you can always spell "a file named
> tilde in the current directory" like "/:./~".
>
> This is relevant to some future Eshell changes I'm considering[2],
> where (I think) I'd like "/:~" to mean "the user's local home
> directory, even when default-directory is remote". In light of that,
> my selfish preference is that we keep the GNU/Linux behavior and
> standardize it across all systems. However, we could standardize the
> MS-Windows behavior instead; I'd then just have to call out the
> different Eshell semantics in the Eshell manual.
>
> [1] You can see this inconsistency with other commands too, like "M-x
> cd RET /:~ RET".
>
> [2] https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2023-08/msg01244.html

I've played a little bit with file-name-non-special. The result is the
appended patch, which expands always "/:~"  to the local home
directory. Could you pls check whether it works for you?

Best regards, Michael.

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