Re: 23.0.50; assert arguments warning

[Lennart Borgman (gmail)]

Richard Stallman wrote:
>        (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
>        (let ((end 1)(pos 2))
>          (assert (<= pos end) t "p=%s e=%s" pos end))
>
>     This gives a warning
>
>        my-file.el:32:42:Warning: `error' called with 4 args to fill 2 format
>          field(s)
>
> That error seems correct.  You gave t for SHOW-ARGS, so it put
> `pos' and `end' into the `error' call automatically.  Then you
> added `pos' and `end' yourself.  That makes 4 format args,
> but just two %s to display them.
>
> I wonder if SHOW-ARGS is not properly documented.  Did you misunderstand
> its meaning?

I believe it is not wrong to say that the doc string is wrong. Or at 
least it is incomplete. Here is a proposal for a new doc string:

  (defmacro assert (form &optional show-args format-string &rest args)
  "Verify that FORM returns non-nil; signal an error if not.
If FORMAT-STRING is nil, a default message listing FORM itself is
used and in this case ARGS are ignored.  If SHOW-ARGS is non-nil
this message will include the values of the arguments of FORM.

If FORMAT-STRING is a string then this, the FORM arguments \(when
SHOW-ARGS is non-nil) and ARGS are passed to `error'.

ARGS are not evaluated unless the assertion fails."
  ...
  )

BTW the doc string for `format' is incorrect because the name of the 
argument STRING has not been changed in src/editfns.c.