Subject: bug#67053: closed (Re: bug#67053: 29.1; Doc string of variable `dired-use-ls-dired')

From: [email-masked] (GNU bug Tracking System)
Date: Sat, 11 Nov 2023 08:06:02 +0000

Your bug report

#67053: 29.1; Doc string of variable `dired-use-ls-dired'

which was filed against the emacs package, has been closed.

The explanation is attached below, along with your original report.
If you require more details, please reply to [email-masked].

-- 
67053: https://debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/bugreport.cgi?bug=67053
GNU Bug Tracking System
Contact [email-masked] with problems

Subject: Re: bug#67053: 29.1; Doc string of variable `dired-use-ls-dired'
From: Eli Zaretskii <[email-masked]>
To: Michael Heerdegen <[email-masked]>
Cc: [email-masked], [email-masked]
Date: Sat, 11 Nov 2023 10:04:54 +0200
List-Id: <debbugs-submit.debbugs.gnu.org>

> Cc: "[email-masked]" <[email-masked]>
> From: Michael Heerdegen <[email-masked]>
> Date: Sat, 11 Nov 2023 07:43:14 +0100
> 
> Drew Adams <[email-masked]> writes:
> 
> > In short, `dired-use-ls-dired' isn't used if option
> > `ls-lisp-use-insert-directory-program' is nil; it's
> > irrelevant in that case.  The doc should say that.
> 
> If that is what you suggest - yes, I think this would be reasonable.

If that's the only problem with the doc string, then I already added a
note to that affect (although I wonder why a user who doesn't use 'ls'
would be bothered by this factoid).  FTR, it was very hard to
understand from the original report that this is the source of the
confusion.  Why would someone expect Emacs to check what 'ls' does if
'ls' is not used?

Anyway, I'm now closing this bug, as I don't think we have anything
else to do here.

Subject: 29.1; Doc string of variable `dired-use-ls-dired'
From: Drew Adams <[email-masked]>
To: "[email-masked]" <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 10 Nov 2023 20:41:01 +0000
List-Id: <debbugs-submit.debbugs.gnu.org>

emacs -Q.

With MS Windows, which uses ls-lisp, the value of this variable is
`unspecified'.  I think it always has this value.  Maybe this is
necessary/correct (?).

But the doc string says this:

 The special value of 'unspecified' means to check whether "ls"
 supports the "--dired" option, and save the result in this
 variable.  This is performed the first time 'dired-insert-directory'
 is invoked.

That's not as clear as it should be.  It gives the impression that the
result of saving the result of that check of the value will be nil or
some non-nil value other than `unspecified'.

It would be better to at least say that the result of the check can be
that it hasn't been determined whether "ls" supports the "--dired"
option, and thus that the variable value will remain `unspecified'
after the check.

Or if it's the case that the check does, for MS Windows (or more
generally for ls-lisp use), determine that "ls" doesn't support
"--dired", then the value should be changed from `unspecified' to some
other non-nil value, such as `t'.

Perhaps I'm misunderstanding something?  If so, please make the doc
string clearer to avoid such misunderstanding.  Thx.

In GNU Emacs 29.1 (build 2, x86_64-w64-mingw32) of 2023-08-02 built on
 AVALON
Windowing system distributor 'Microsoft Corp.', version 10.0.19045
System Description: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro (v10.0.2009.19045.3570)

Configured using:
 'configure --with-modules --without-dbus --with-native-compilation=aot
 --without-compress-install --with-tree-sitter CFLAGS=-O2'

Configured features:
ACL GIF GMP GNUTLS HARFBUZZ JPEG JSON LCMS2 LIBXML2 MODULES NATIVE_COMP
NOTIFY W32NOTIFY PDUMPER PNG RSVG SOUND SQLITE3 THREADS TIFF
TOOLKIT_SCROLL_BARS TREE_SITTER WEBP XPM ZLIB

(NATIVE_COMP present but libgccjit not available)