Re: doc elisp intro cross reference fixes

[Stefan Monnier]

>> > 1.  Setting the variable with set-variable would not have any effect
>> >     other than maybe to confuse Emacs internals or the user.  This is
>> 
>> Sounds like a bug: if it works via customize-variable, there's not good
>> reason why it can't work with set-variable.

> There are reasons.  Customize can specify actions to do whenever a
> variable is set (there are a few customizable variables that switch on
> minor modes, for example).

That's what he said, basically and I replied that it's a bug in
set-variable.  For such vars, set-variable should either put a big warning
or do the same as customize-variable (i.e. call the setter function).

> Also when variables have a complex structure, it is a bit of policy to say
> "this 20-element list does not make sense setting via set-variable".

If it's too inconvenient for a user, he just won't use set-variable with it.
The user can do this part of the policing himself.  There's no need
to introduce a distinction between two sorts of user-variables just because
some are hard to change using one of the two interfaces.

>> > Basically, everything can be summarized with: "use `*' if and only
>> > if setting the variable with `set-variable' makes sense".  I
>> > should say that the fact set-variable itself will indeed not
>> > distinguish (not even for completion) between `*' or no `*' is not
>> > very consistent with
>> 
>> And the fact that nobody has ever complained about the fact that
>> set-variable can be used on vars that don't have a * (as long as
>> they're defined with `defcustom') indicates that it is not a bad
>> behavior.

> And the fact that nobody has ever complained about undiscovered
> crimes indicates that they are not a bad thing...

Sorry, but absurd analogies do not count as an argument in my book,
especially not if they resort to things like crime, nazism, etc...


        Stefan