Re: <filename> changed on disk; really edit the buffer?

[Richard Stallman]

    We could, in auto_save_1, do something like

    if (! NILP (Fstring_equal (current_buffer->filename,
                               current_buffer->auto_save_file_name)))
       Fclear_visited_file_modtime;

    if the Fwrite_region succeeds, but I'm not sure of any implications of
    this.  For example, current_buffer->save_length would not get set in
    Fwrite_region.

It would be easy enough to do those parts of the actions of
Fclear_visited_file_modtime which are right, and not the rest.

    Alternatively, we could try to simply save the buffer
    which is the behavior described in the Elisp manual but this might be
    more tricky.

Yes, it would be.

    Indeed.  Given the fact that apparently you are the first to report this
    bug it seems that the option `auto-save-visited-file-name' is hardly
    ever useful (at least nowadays).

It may not be very useful.  This option is historical since the
original Emacs.  I am sure some people used it in the 70s, but
maybe few people use it now.

      The most attractive solution would be
    to get rid of it.

Maybe we should do that, but before we do, we should ask the users
whether they mind.  Maybe some people have good reasons to use it.

Stephen, what was your motive for using it?