Re: Scratch buffer annoyance

[Jason Rumney]

Drew Adams wrote:

> (defcustom visit-on-startup nil
>   "What Emacs visits when it starts up.
> A non-nil value is a string naming a directory, file, or buffer to visit.
> If nil, then the splash screen is displayed."
>   :type '(choice
>           (directory :tag "Directory"      :value "~/")
>           (file      :tag "File"           :value "~/new.txt")
>           (string    :tag "Buffer"         :value "*scratch*")
>           (const     :tag "Splash Screen"  nil))
>   :group 'startup-display)
>
> The value is a string or nil. If you choose `Buffer', then you can enter any
> string (without completion). If the string names a buffer that exists at
> startup, such as *scratch* or *Messages*, then that buffer is visited (in
> the proper mode). If the string names a nonexistent buffer, then that buffer
> is created and visited.
>
> What am I missing? Why is this thread so Byzantine?
>   

You are making a distinction in the UI between buffer and file. But the
distinction is thrown away immediately because buffer, file and
directory all map to strings.