GNU bug report logs -
#12076
24.1; doc about characters and `characterp'
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Reported by: "Drew Adams" <drew.adams <at> oracle.com>
Date: Sat, 28 Jul 2012 17:23:01 UTC
Severity: normal
Found in version 24.1
Done: Chong Yidong <cyd <at> gnu.org>
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bug#12076
; Package
emacs
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(Sat, 28 Jul 2012 17:23:01 GMT)
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"Drew Adams" <drew.adams <at> oracle.com>
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New bug report received and forwarded. Copy sent to
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(Sat, 28 Jul 2012 17:23:01 GMT)
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Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):
The Elisp manual has always said that in Emacs characters are integers.
And so they are, still; and so the manual says, still. Good.
But not all integers are characters. And we now have predicate
`characterp' to distinguish those that are from those that are not.
Good.
But the doc for `characterp' says nothing about characters being
integers. That's not good, even if the intention is for the predicate
to serve at a higher level of abstraction. In Emacs Lisp things should
be clear to users.
Please update (elisp) `Character Codes' to make it clear, as a reminder,
that (all) characters are integers. Yes, that should be clear from the
use of #x... syntax etc. But a reminder helps. And please add a cross
reference to node `String Basics', where characters are introduced.
More importantly, the doc string of `characterp' should also mention
that a character is an integer. All that's needed, to help users more,
is to add a couple of words:
"Return non-nil if OBJECT is an integer that is a valid character."
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The general doc introducing characters is in node `String Basics'. It
is pretty good as it is, because it implicitly says that not all
integers are characters (it explicitly says that whether an integer is a
character is determined by its use), and because it cross-references
node `Character Codes', which presents predicate `characterp'.
Although `String Basics' is pretty good, it would be helpful to mention
`characterp' there, as the predicate that determines "whether an integer
is a character or not" (supposedly by examining "how it is used" (?)).
IOW, mention predicate `characterp' here, and cross-reference the node
where it is described in detail.
In GNU Emacs 24.1.1 (i386-mingw-nt5.1.2600)
of 2012-06-10 on MARVIN
Windowing system distributor `Microsoft Corp.', version 5.1.2600
Configured using:
`configure --with-gcc (4.6) --cflags
-ID:/devel/emacs/libs/libXpm-3.5.8/include
-ID:/devel/emacs/libs/libXpm-3.5.8/src
-ID:/devel/emacs/libs/libpng-dev_1.4.3-1/include
-ID:/devel/emacs/libs/zlib-dev_1.2.5-2/include
-ID:/devel/emacs/libs/giflib-4.1.4-1/include
-ID:/devel/emacs/libs/jpeg-6b-4/include
-ID:/devel/emacs/libs/tiff-3.8.2-1/include
-ID:/devel/emacs/libs/gnutls-3.0.9/include'
Information forwarded
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:
bug#12076
; Package
emacs
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(Tue, 14 Aug 2012 17:15:02 GMT)
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Message #8 received at 12076 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):
"Drew Adams" <drew.adams <at> oracle.com> writes:
> But the doc for `characterp' says nothing about characters being
> integers.
Fixed in trunk.
bug closed, send any further explanations to
12076 <at> debbugs.gnu.org and "Drew Adams" <drew.adams <at> oracle.com>
Request was from
Chong Yidong <cyd <at> gnu.org>
to
control <at> debbugs.gnu.org
.
(Tue, 14 Aug 2012 17:20:02 GMT)
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bug archived.
Request was from
Debbugs Internal Request <help-debbugs <at> gnu.org>
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internal_control <at> debbugs.gnu.org
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(Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:24:05 GMT)
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This bug report was last modified 11 years and 233 days ago.
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