GNU bug report logs - #67540
29.1; Emacs on Windows incorrectly capitalizes some environment variables

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From: help-debbugs <at> gnu.org (GNU bug Tracking System)
To: Stefan Kangas <stefankangas <at> gmail.com>
Cc: tracker <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: bug#67540: closed (29.1; Emacs on Windows incorrectly capitalizes
 some environment  variables)
Date: Tue, 04 Mar 2025 10:16:01 +0000

[Message part 1 (text/plain, inline)]

Your message dated Tue, 4 Mar 2025 02:15:26 -0800
with message-id <CADwFkmkF-FCfOXaTpn+Q2YaGsYKNwPMEv+VjGoVwqogAE23wGQ <at> mail.gmail.com>
and subject line Re: bug#67540: 29.1; Emacs on Windows incorrectly capitalizes some environment variables
has caused the debbugs.gnu.org bug report #67540,
regarding 29.1; Emacs on Windows incorrectly capitalizes some environment  variables
to be marked as done.

(If you believe you have received this mail in error, please contact
help-debbugs <at> gnu.org.)


-- 
67540: https://debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/bugreport.cgi?bug=67540
GNU Bug Tracking System
Contact help-debbugs <at> gnu.org with problems

[Message part 2 (message/rfc822, inline)]

From: Dave Abrahams <dave <at> boostpro.com>
To: bug-gnu-emacs <at> gnu.org
Subject: 29.1; Emacs on Windows incorrectly capitalizes some environment 
 variables
Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2023 18:29:26 -0800

emacs -Q
M-! set

Now issue the "set" command from a CMD shell. Notice that the "Path"
environment variable has been renamed to "PATH" in Emacs.  This renaming
interferes with some tools operating correctly e.g. the swift compiler
(see https://swift.org).

I notice that the "ComSpec" variable is getting the same treatment

I am able to work around the problem as follows:

(defun unsetenv (var-name)
  (let ((current-prefix-arg '(4)))
	(funcall-interactively 'setenv var-name nil)))

(when (eq system-type 'windows-nt)
  (dolist (v '("Path" "ComSpec"))
          (let ((x (getenv v)))
               (unsetenv (upcase v))
               (setenv v x))))


In GNU Emacs 29.1 (build 2, x86_64-w64-mingw32) of 2023-08-02 built on
AVALON
Windowing system distributor 'Microsoft Corp.', version 10.0.22621
System Description: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro (v10.0.2009.22621.2715)

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)

Important settings:
  value of $LANG: ENU
  locale-coding-system: cp1252

Major mode: Dired by name

Minor modes in effect:
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  magit-wip-before-change-mode: t
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  global-git-commit-mode: t
  shell-dirtrack-mode: t
  server-mode: t
  ws-butler-global-mode: t
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  line-number-mode: t
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  transient-mark-mode: t
  auto-composition-mode: t
  auto-encryption-mode: t
  auto-compression-mode: t

Load-path shadows:
c:/Users/dave/.emacs.d.default/straight/build/transient/transient hides c:/Program Files/Emacs/emacs-29.1/share/emacs/29.1/lisp/transient
c:/Users/dave/.emacs.d.default/straight/build/use-package/use-package hides c:/Program Files/Emacs/emacs-29.1/share/emacs/29.1/lisp/use-package/use-package
c:/Users/dave/.emacs.d.default/straight/build/use-package/use-package-lint hides c:/Program Files/Emacs/emacs-29.1/share/emacs/29.1/lisp/use-package/use-package-lint
c:/Users/dave/.emacs.d.default/straight/build/use-package/use-package-jump hides c:/Program Files/Emacs/emacs-29.1/share/emacs/29.1/lisp/use-package/use-package-jump
c:/Users/dave/.emacs.d.default/straight/build/use-package/use-package-ensure hides c:/Program Files/Emacs/emacs-29.1/share/emacs/29.1/lisp/use-package/use-package-ensure
c:/Users/dave/.emacs.d.default/straight/build/use-package/use-package-diminish hides c:/Program Files/Emacs/emacs-29.1/share/emacs/29.1/lisp/use-package/use-package-diminish
c:/Users/dave/.emacs.d.default/straight/build/use-package/use-package-delight hides c:/Program Files/Emacs/emacs-29.1/share/emacs/29.1/lisp/use-package/use-package-delight
c:/Users/dave/.emacs.d.default/straight/build/use-package/use-package-core hides c:/Program Files/Emacs/emacs-29.1/share/emacs/29.1/lisp/use-package/use-package-core
c:/Users/dave/.emacs.d.default/straight/build/use-package/use-package-bind-key hides c:/Program Files/Emacs/emacs-29.1/share/emacs/29.1/lisp/use-package/use-package-bind-key
c:/Users/dave/.emacs.d.default/straight/build/bind-key/bind-key hides c:/Program Files/Emacs/emacs-29.1/share/emacs/29.1/lisp/use-package/bind-key
c:/Users/dave/.emacs.d.default/straight/build/seq/seq hides c:/Program Files/Emacs/emacs-29.1/share/emacs/29.1/lisp/emacs-lisp/seq
c:/Users/dave/.emacs.d.default/straight/build/let-alist/let-alist hides c:/Program Files/Emacs/emacs-29.1/share/emacs/29.1/lisp/emacs-lisp/let-alist

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Memory information:
((conses 16 557582 44793)
(symbols 48 31897 0)
(strings 32 115342 4566)
(string-bytes 1 3994014)
(vectors 16 67230)
(vector-slots 8 1455375 78880)
(floats 8 356 751)
(intervals 56 18883 2260)
(buffers 984 33))

[Message part 3 (message/rfc822, inline)]

From: Stefan Kangas <stefankangas <at> gmail.com>
To: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>
Cc: Dave Abrahams <dave <at> boostpro.com>, jporterbugs <at> gmail.com,
 67540-done <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#67540: 29.1; Emacs on Windows incorrectly capitalizes some
 environment variables
Date: Tue, 4 Mar 2025 02:15:26 -0800

Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org> writes:

>> From: Dave Abrahams <dave <at> boostpro.com>
>> Date: Fri, 1 Dec 2023 12:34:40 -0800
>> Cc: jporterbugs <at> gmail.com, 67540 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
>>
>> You’re saying that these are ported UNIX programs that are only designed to
>> work from inside of Emma, which has changed the spelling of the environment
>> variable names?
>
> No, they are not for Emacs only.  But they expect to see PATH, and
> they compare case-sensitively with "PATH".  If you want to cater to
> swift, which doesn't recognize "PATH", but does recognize "Path", why
> not assume that there are other programs which do the opposite, and
> which will be broken by the change you propose?
>
> IOW, I don't see why we should change code that worked for decades
> because a single application implements a case-sensitive search of
> environment variables on MS-Windows, in direct contradiction of
> platform conventions, and contrary to the behavior of every other
> program I've ever used on Windows?

This is tagged wontfix, and I think the reasoning for that presented
here makes sense.

I'm therefore closing this bug report now.

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