GNU bug report logs - #73709
29.4; Doc of `file-newer-than-file-p'

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From: Drew Adams <drew.adams <at> oracle.com>
To: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>
Cc: "73709 <at> debbugs.gnu.org" <73709 <at> debbugs.gnu.org>
Subject: bug#73709: 29.4; Doc of `file-newer-than-file-p'
Date: Tue, 8 Oct 2024 18:40:18 +0000

> tags 73709 notabug wontfix
> close 73709
> thanks
> 
> > Date: Tue, 8 Oct 2024 17:56:44 +0000
> > From:  Drew Adams via "Bug reports for GNU Emacs,
> >  the Swiss army knife of text editors" <bug-gnu-emacs <at> gnu.org>
> >
> > Neither the doc string nor the Elisp manual (node File Attributes) says
> > what is meant by a file being "newer" than another.  A guess is that
> > this is about last file modification time, but one could think it's
> > about file creation time etc.
> >
> > Please clarify the meaning.
> 
> "Newer" means newer, in its literal meaning.  How this translates into
> the file's attributes (if that is not obvious) is implementation
> details.
> 
> There's no need to and no sense in "clarifying" in our documentation
> the meaning of words which are used literally.
> 
> Closing.

It's not about any implementation details.  It's about
what's meant here by "newer".  And the answer is that
it's about the recentness of the last modification.

What's newer?  That's the question.  Assuming a "literal"
meaning of "newer" doesn't help at all.  What kind of
newness?  Check a thesaurus for "newer"/"new".  E.g.:

  "Having just (or relatively recently) come into
   being or been made or acquired or discovered"

  "Recently created or having started to exist recently"

That's about _creation_, not modification.

You have a 2024 Ferrari, just out of the showroom -
never been touched.  I have a 1998 Toyota, with recent
modifications/repairs.

Which is "newer"?  According to what you feel is obvious,
it's my '98 Toyota that's newer: more recently modified -
more recent last modification.

And besides time of last file modification, there are file
creation time, last access time, and last status-change time.

Please make the minor clarification that lets users know
that this is about last-modification date.  It won't take
much time.

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