Re: 21.x feature request: windows shortcut support

[Richard Stallman]

    But before we solve that problem, we need to solve the problem that
    Emacs currently does not do anything useful if a shortcut is opened
    (it opens the binary shortcut file itself, where a more useful thing
    would be to open the target of the shortcut). I don't think this can
    be solved entirely within openp.

In Emacs user terminology we do not speak of "opening" a file,
so what you have said is vague on a crucial point.

If shortcuts are generally used only for execution, then the only
thing Emacs *needs* to do, to fit in, is to handle them that way.  The
code for starting subprocesses has to handle the shortcut file
properly once openp finds it, but no other change is needed that I can
see.  And shortcuts pointing to directories would not make any sense.

The idea of making Emacs use shortcuts in ways that Windows doesn't
use them makes little sense to me.  To extend this Windows feature in
any coherent way would require changes in Windows itself and many
other programs.  And why should we be spending time trying to improve
Windows?