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Re: customize
From: |
Edward Welbourne |
Subject: |
Re: customize |
Date: |
Mon, 29 Jul 2002 13:17:14 +0200 |
> I documented custom-face, but I don't see a reason to change the
> default to use a different file.
Jeff was discussing customisation of custom-file, not custom-face.
But I'm guessing that's what you meant.
Three reasons for setting custom-face to somewhere other than ~/.emacs
(only arguably reasons against using ~/.emacs as default for
custom-face):
* Database reason: one file then contains only customize's actions,
making it much easier to keep track of which pieces of one's
config come from where.
* Priority/ordering reason: customize adds things to the end of its
file: this is sensible for it, but potentially bad for elisp which
needs to be executed after customizations; using a separate file
for customize lets my ~/.emacs load the customize part early, late
or in between, at my option, rather than having it always be last.
* Byte-compilation: putting it all in a separate .el file provides
for the possibility of byte-compiling the customization elisp.
Having customize write to ~/.emacs leads to its works being mixed up
with the user's hand-coded elisp; it also ensures that customize's
actions over-ride everything the user sets up in elisp.
Two reasons for using ~/.emacs as the default:
* Simplicity: ~/.emacs is being loaded anyway; if customize writes
to any other file, ~/.emacs must load that file; users will be
confused/upset if their customization efforts have no effect
(because the file the customization was recorded in hasn't been
loaded).
* Convenience/consistency: using a byte-compiled file requires
recompilation each time any customizations get added.
Personally, I'm with Jeff on this ... but I suspect this is the
natural bias of old hands; while newbies need convenience with
simplicity, and can't be expected to work out what to do about
problems.
Having the customization system provide a clear and prominent mention
of custom-file's role, on its front page, would probably be the wisest
approach; newbies could safely ignore it and have their customizations
work, while old hands would have the one clue we need to fix it up the
way we prefer.
Eddy.
- Re: customize, Richard Stallman, 2002/07/14
- Re: customize, Richard Stallman, 2002/07/27
- Re: customize,
Edward Welbourne <=
- Re: customize, Kai Großjohann, 2002/07/29
- Re: customize, Edward Welbourne, 2002/07/29
- Re: customize, chad, 2002/07/29
- Re: customize, Per Abrahamsen, 2002/07/29
- Re: customize, Edward Welbourne, 2002/07/29
- Re: customize, Kai Großjohann, 2002/07/29
- Re: customize, Edward Welbourne, 2002/07/30
- Re: customize, Robert J. Chassell, 2002/07/30
- Re: customize, Eli Zaretskii, 2002/07/30
- Re: customize, Eli Zaretskii, 2002/07/30