Subject: bug#8653: 24.0.50; `M-x grep' output converts `~' to /cygdrive/c/...

From: "Drew Adams" <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 12 May 2011 08:34:22 -0700

> > HOME=C:\
> 
> That's not a good choice (see below)

No explanation below, AFAICT.

> >> and that the Cygwin mount table is correct (in my case with
> >> /home mounted at C:\home).
> >
> > Dunno how to check that.  In bash, cd $HOME and cd ~ take 
> > me to /cygdrive/c, if that helps.
> 
> Try running 'mount'

$ mount
C:\cygwin\bin on /usr/bin type system (binmode)
C:\cygwin\lib on /usr/lib type system (binmode)
C:\cygwin on / type system (binmode)
c: on /cygdrive/c type system (binmode,noumount)
i: on /cygdrive/i type system (binmode,noumount)

> > FWIW, I am using an old version of Cygwin, having heard of 
> > various problems that some Emacs users with more recent versions.
> 
> You really should upgrade.... Cygwin1.7 works just fine
> with Win32 emacs.

So does my current version, AFAICT.  It is fine for my needs.  And as I said,
I've heard problems reported with more recent versions.  I don't care to
investigate or defend whether such reports exist or are accurate.

I'm just telling you why I am not "upgrading".  I already said to take that as
given.  And I said that if the old Cygwin version is the problem here then we
can close the bug.

> > If there is no problem here with a more recent Cygwin
> > build, then that's good news and we can close this bug.
> 
> The problem is your setup - using C:\ as HOME is not a good 
> idea.

Up above you say "see below", but here below you just repeat that it is not a
good idea - no reason given.

Anyway, my setup is not a _problem_, for Emacs.  At least not for my use of it
so far.

And if HOME=c:\ is "the problem" causing the reported behavior (grep output
noise), then I'd suggest that "the problem" is Cygwin not fully supporting c:\
as HOME.

It sounds like you are confirming that "the problem" exists even for later
Cygwin versions: Users cannot have HOME=c:\ and avoid the noise.  Is that
correct?

Users should be able to have HOME= c:\.
That should be a no-brainer.

But this bug report is not about fixing Cygwin.  If there is nothing Emacs could
or should do here, then we can close this bug.

> If you want to shorten the reported paths, add a mount
> point "/c"  mounted at "C:\".

Sorry; I don't want to "do" anything.  I'm OK with the noisy output - just
reporting that things could perhaps be better (for Emacs `grep').

> Reading the fine manual for the details:
> - Cygwin 1.7 (current)  
> http://cygwin.com/cygwin-ug-net/cygwin-ug-net.html
> - Cygwin 1.5 (obsolete) http://cygwin.com/1.5/cygwin-ug-net/index.html

Right.  Send users off to the top of the user guide to tell them how to work
around "the problem":...  Sorry; I just don't care enough.  My use of Cygwin is
minimal.

> > FWIW - My Cygwin version dates from 2006.  I don't see any 
> > README file or doc and I cannot find how to determine the
> > version #.  No, I didn't try googling etc.
> 
> A minimal effort would have found that you need to run 'cygcheck'.

$ cygcheck -V
cygcheck version 1.90
System Checker for Cygwin
Copyright 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 Red Hat, Inc.
Compiled on Jan 31 2007

I was headed out the door and in a hurry.  Otherwise I would have just googled
and found it quick enough.  My point was that the doc is not very apparent on a
user's Windows box.

A "minimal effort" for a Windows application would be to include doc in the
`Cygwin' menu (from `Start > All Programs'), or at least include a link from
that menu to the online doc.

But again, I do not really care.  And maybe a more recent version of Cygwin is
more Windows-user friendly in this regard; dunno.