Re: woman doesn't work if current buffer's directory doesn't exist

[Kevin Rodgers]

Chris Moore wrote:
> Kevin Rodgers <address@hidden> writes:
>
> > It should signal an error, that the directory doesn't exist.  How
> > does one create a buffer whose default-directory doesn't exist?
>
> One finds a file or creates a buffer which isn't associated with a
> file, but has default-directory set anyway, and then has someone else:
>
>   rename the directory containing the file
> or
>   rename one of the directories higher up the tree
> or
>   umount the filesystem holding the file
> or
>   ...

I don't find those scenarios compelling, but I did find out that it's
even easier: C-x C-f 
/this/directory/doesn't/exist/and_neither_does_this_file RET

> I don't see why I shouldn't be allowed to pipe the contents of a
> buffer through 'wc -w' for example to count the words in the buffer
> just because the buffer's default-directory doesn't exist.

Now _that_ is a compelling argument.

> In the case where I first saw this bug, the buffer in question wasn't
> associated with a file at all.  I had simply typed "C-x b tmp RET" to
> create a temporary buffer.  I was in a '*shell*' buffer at the time,
> which was in the "~/tmp/foo" directory.  The 'tmp' buffer which I
> created therefore had a default-directory of "~/tmp/foo" - a directory
> which I then deleted before attempting to run a shell command on the
> contents of the tmp buffer.

Hmmm.  So what is the appropriate directory to use in that situation?
As someone else pointed out, that will affect how relative pathnames
are interpreted: usefully and safely, or not.

> Note that when checking for the existance of default-directory, we
> need to take the filename handlers into account.  /ssh:address@hidden:/tmp
> might look like a bad pathname, but it makes sense to Tramp.

That is a whole other can of worms.  In that case, Tramp is responsible
for ensuring that file-directory-p returns the correct result (which is
noncontroversial) and also for ensuring that shell-command, call-process,
etc. Do The Right Thing i.e. run the command on the remote host in the
specified directory (which may or may not be implemented yet).

--
Kevin Rodgers
Denver, Colorado, USA