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RE: completing-read does not accept spaces
From: |
Drew Adams |
Subject: |
RE: completing-read does not accept spaces |
Date: |
Thu, 16 Jan 2014 10:50:35 -0800 (PST) |
> >> Reading the docstring of completing-read I see no reason why it should
> >> not accept spaces. So either the docstring is at fault or there is a bug
> >> on completing-read.
> >
> > No. The doc to read is (elisp) `Completion Commands', in particular,
> > about the variables named `minibuffer-local-*-map'.
>
> This is terrible. completing-read docstring says
>
> Read a string in the minibuffer, with completion.
>
> A string is a string is a string. It doesn't say "a word", or "a
> symbol", or "a string without spaces". It says "a string".
It should perhaps say something like "Read your input in the minibuffer
with completion, and return a string."
It says "a string" because that is what `completing-read' returns.
But if you find that doc string confusing, then by all means, consider
filing a doc bug.
> >> Curiously, the function will complete the user's input to a string
> >> containing spaces if there is one on the collection of candidates:
> >> (completing-read "say: " (list "hello there"))
> >
> > Irrelevant here. As the doc I mentioned says, `SPC' is bound to
> > `minibuffer-complete-word', and that is what you are seeing. `SPC' is
> > not bound to `self-insert-command' here - it is not inserting itself.
>
> So by not binding SPC to self-insert-command they are breaking
> completing-read stated purpose.
The purpose as stated does not say anything about what keys you can type
to produce the minibuffer content that gets read.
> > It is just completing a "word" at a time.
> >
> >> Please submit a bug report (M-x report-emacs-bug) against completing-
> >> read.
> >
> > No. There is no bug here. This is the behavior by design, like
> > it or not.
>
> The docstring is wrong when it says "Read a string". That's a bug, IMO.
See above. The input part of the minibuffer (i.e., after the prompt)
can be said to be read as a string. But even that is not necessarily
accurate. It is certainly not simply read as a Lisp string, in the
sense of what function `read' does.
But really, I believe what is intended by "Read a string" here is that
the minibufer content is possibly completed and then is accepted and
interpreted. IOW, this use of "read" is in the general sense of
_reading input_.
The "as a string" really refers to the fact that what is produced by
the act of reading (i.e., what is returned by the function) is a string.
But again, if the doc is not clear to you, consider letting Emacs Dev
know, by filing a bug report. Perhaps they can improve it to remove
the perceived ambiguity.
> > Do I personally think that `SPC' should generally be self-inserting
> > during completion? You bet I do. And so should `?'. And so should
> > `C-j' (newline). (And this is the case in Icicle mode, for instance.)
> >
> > But that is not the opinion of Emacs Dev. It took decades to finally
> > get `SPC' to be self-inserting for file-name completion (see variable
> > `minibuffer-local-filename-completion-map', in the same Elisp manual
> > node). Patience. ;-)
>
> Sigh. I know what you mean.
Hang in there, Oscar.
- Command timeclock-out, Miguel Guedes, 2014/01/16
- completing-read does not accept spaces (was: Command timeclock-out), Óscar Fuentes, 2014/01/16
- RE: completing-read does not accept spaces (was: Command timeclock-out), Drew Adams, 2014/01/16
- Re: completing-read does not accept spaces, Stefan Monnier, 2014/01/16
- Re: completing-read does not accept spaces, Miguel Guedes, 2014/01/23
- Re: completing-read does not accept spaces, Óscar Fuentes, 2014/01/23
- RE: completing-read does not accept spaces, Drew Adams, 2014/01/23