GNU bug report logs - #12838
pcomplete on a path with ~ in eshell fails with "Text is read-only"

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Message #5 received at submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Tuomas Kuismin <tuomas.kuismin <at> iki.fi>
To: submit <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: pcomplete on a path with ~ in eshell fails with "Text is read-only"
Date: Thu, 08 Nov 2012 11:44:48 +0200

Package: Emacs
Version: 24.2

Reproducing:
+ Start emacs with "emacs -Q"
+ Start eshell with M-x eshell
+ Ignore case in eshell completion with M-x set-variable -> eshell-cmpl-ignore-case -> t
+ Exit eshell with the command "exit"
+ Restart eshell with M-x eshell
+ Create a file in your home directory with the command "touch ~/foo"
+ Try to complete said file (in eshell) by typing "cat ~/f" and pressing TAB

Result: No completion is done, message "Text is read-only" appears.
Expected result: "cat ~/foo" appears on screen.

Workaround: Add the following to your init file:
(add-hook 'eshell-mode-hook (lambda () (setq pcomplete-expand-before-complete t)))
This results in the ~ being expanded (removed) from the path before completing, thus circumventing the issue.

To my knowledge, this bug exists on Linux and Mac, Emacs 24.2 and the repository.

Message #8 received at 12838 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Glenn Morris <rgm <at> gnu.org>
To: Tuomas Kuismin <tuomas.kuismin <at> iki.fi>
Cc: 12838 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#12838: pcomplete on a path with ~ in eshell fails with "Text
	is read-only"
Date: Thu, 08 Nov 2012 21:11:26 -0500

Tuomas Kuismin wrote:

> Reproducing:
> + Start emacs with "emacs -Q"
> + Start eshell with M-x eshell
> + Ignore case in eshell completion with M-x set-variable -> eshell-cmpl-ignore-case -> t
> + Exit eshell with the command "exit"
> + Restart eshell with M-x eshell

aka
emacs -Q --eval '(setq eshell-cmpl-ignore-case t)' -f eshell

> + Create a file in your home directory with the command "touch ~/foo"
> + Try to complete said file (in eshell) by typing "cat ~/f" and pressing TAB
>
> Result: No completion is done, message "Text is read-only" appears.

Thanks for the report, with similar symptoms to the closed
http://debbugs.gnu.org/5067.

This is a bug in pcomplete-insert-entry, which tries to delete
"/home/user/f" from a buffer that contains only "~/f", and so ends up
trying to delete the read-only prompt. There is a FIXME comment in the
source about this...

It works fine in 23.4, not in 24.1 and later.

Message #11 received at 12838 <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Glenn Morris <rgm <at> gnu.org>
To: Tuomas Kuismin <tuomas.kuismin <at> iki.fi>
Cc: 12838 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
Subject: Re: bug#12838: pcomplete on a path with ~ in eshell fails with "Text
	is read-only"
Date: Thu, 15 Nov 2012 03:00:21 -0500

I installed a workaround in emacs-24 for eshell.
Hopefully someone will fix it properly at some point.

Message #16 received at 12838-done <at> debbugs.gnu.org (full text, mbox):

From: Stefan Monnier <monnier <at> iro.umontreal.ca>
To: Glenn Morris <rgm <at> gnu.org>
Cc: 12838-done <at> debbugs.gnu.org, Tuomas Kuismin <tuomas.kuismin <at> iki.fi>
Subject: Re: bug#12838: pcomplete on a path with ~ in eshell fails with
	"Text is read-only"
Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2012 14:22:58 -0500

> I installed a workaround in emacs-24 for eshell.
> Hopefully someone will fix it properly at some point.

Thanks.  The completion-at-point version of pcomplete works here, so
I installed a different workaround, and the "fix it properly" will be to
move to completion-at-point.


        Stefan

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