bug#81537: 32.0.50; Fixing icomplete-in-buffer requiring users to advice-add

Eshel Yaron [04/Aug  6:30pm +02] wrote:
>> I have a command which finishes by adding :after advice to
>> icomplete-post-command-hook.  In that advice it does something on the
>> condition that (length= completion-all-sorted-completions 1).
>
> Got it.  I wouldn't worry about retaining compatibility with something
> like that anyway, since completion-all-sorted-completions is very much
> an implementation detail.  But as it happens, I think it should work
> also with my patch.

Okay, I guess that I should have noticed the absence of a docstring
before using it, back whenever it was I first did.

Is there some other way to do what I want that you might suggest?

>>> diff --git a/lisp/icomplete.el b/lisp/icomplete.el
>>> index c8da0e9bf9b..7b7d10f96fc 100644
>>> --- a/lisp/icomplete.el
>>> +++ b/lisp/icomplete.el
>>> @@ -537,6 +537,39 @@ fido-mode
>>>      (add-hook 'minibuffer-setup-hook #'icomplete-minibuffer-setup)
>>>      (add-hook 'minibuffer-setup-hook #'icomplete--fido-mode-setup)))
>>>
>>> +(defun icomplete-in-buffer-force-complete-and-exit ()
>>> +  (interactive "" icomplete-in-buffer-mode)
>>> +  (minibuffer-force-complete
>>> +   (icomplete--field-beg) (icomplete--field-end) 'dont-cycle)
>>> +  (icomplete-in-buffer-mode -1))
>>> +
>>> +(defun icomplete-in-buffer-abort ()
>>> +  (interactive "" icomplete-in-buffer-mode)
>>> +  (icomplete-in-buffer-mode -1)
>>> +  (keyboard-quit))
>>
>> This part of your patch is what worries me the most.  We have had very
>> long discussions about getting the several different exiting functions
>> *just* right, over the years.  I'm loathe to add more subtly different
>> ones.
>
> Is there some documentation of that "just right" behavior?

Unfortunately not, though, there are the old bugs that you could
re-read.  I wouldn't recommend it!

> Or specific things you notice that aren't just right?

Not yet.

>
>> I'd like to see your proposal for adding a hook but I may have similar
>> trepidation about installing it ...
>
> It's just a mechanical change: rename completion--icomplete-in-buffer-p
> to completion--FOO (where FOO doesn't include "icomplete", or any other
> frontend name), and replace its Icomplete-specific body with:
>
>   (run-hook-with-args-until-success completion-FOO-functions)
>
> Then, in icomplete-mode, add the current
> completion--icomplete-in-buffer-p to completion-FOO-functions.
> That should preserve the exact behavior of the existing code, and so
> hopefully avoid that trepidation. :)

That sounds fine to me, though I'd like to see the patch before
installing.  Thanks for figuring out this proposal.

-- 
Sean Whitton