bug#45085: Have so-long mode fire-sprinkler system always ready for M-x compile, M-x shell

[Stefan Kangas]

tags 45085 + wontfix
close 45085
thanks

Phil Sainty <psainty@orcon.net.nz> writes:

> One immediate issue with the scenario you're considering
> is that buffers handling process output are commonly
> auto-scrolling to the end of the output, which means that
> after running a command which produces a massive line,
> you're liable to be left with the *end* of the giant line
> visible in the window (which is the worst-case situation);
> so Emacs might struggle with that even if so-long was
> active.
>
> I do think it would be interesting to experiment with using
> `after-change-functions' to detect the insertion of
> extremely long lines into a buffer, but I also think it
> might bring significant complications, so I don't have any
> current plans to extend the library in these directions.
>
> We can be relatively confident about the suitability of
> calling `so-long' in a buffer which is visiting a file of
> programming code; but it's harder to have such confidence
> when considering buffers *generally* -- Emacs buffers can be
> used for almost anything, and it may be wildly inappropriate
> for `so-long' to get involved in many of those cases.
> Especially when considering buffers dealing with external
> processes, when the buffer's mode might be fairly generic,
> yet with a wide variety of different output possibilities.
>
> Explicit/white-listed uses of `so-long-minor-mode' can be
> useful, however.  For example, I recall an Emacs 26 user
> reporting excellent performance improvements (albeit at the
> cost to the readability) from using `so-long-minor-mode' in
> debugger backtrace buffers when giant lists of text
> properties were involved; so there's certainly scope to use
> so-long outside of file-visiting buffers in particular
> scenarios; but my gut feeling is that such uses ought to be
> targeted individually.

It seems like this is not something we want to do or even see as
feasible.  So I'm closing this as wontfix.

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