Re: Option to not automatically customize-save-variable `package-selected-packages'

[Kaushal Modi]

On Fri, Feb 19, 2016 at 1:50 PM, Eli Zaretskii <address@hidden> wrote:

I'd
still like to understand what's so special about this particular
customization.

IMO this particular customization is not portable across multiple machines. All machines need not have the same packages installed; reasons: different emacs versions, one machine begin at work, another at home, etc.

Another reason is that this variable is more like persistent data cache which updates very frequently (unlike the other customization options which a user typically sets and does "Save for future sessions"). In the former case, user has no control on what this variable is set to; in the latter case, user has total control.

Also the value stored in this variable is more of use to package.el than directly to the user. The train of thought is that user doesn't care what this variable is set to. But a user would care if delete-selection-mode is set to nil/t.

Also frequent changing of this variable value causes noise in git commits (if a user is saving their config using git); the diff of this variable change is not very helpful as usually people have lots of packages installed and a glance at the diff doesn't tell instantly which package was added/removed. In crux, committing of custom-file causes non-useful commits. That brings back to the earlier point that as this variable is machine-specific, they do not need to be in a file which a user would typically share among machines. If I am used to delete-selection-mode on one machine, that stays true when I am using emacs on my other machine too.

--
Kaushal Modi