Subject: Bug#4329: Emacs has hardcoded path for jka-compr, breaks at upgrade

From: Ian Jackson <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 29 Aug 96 02:32 BST

Package: emacs
Version: 19.31-2

I just upgraded from 19.29-3, and it left me with the following
/etc/site-start.el:
 (load "/usr/lib/emacs/19.29/lisp/jka-compr.elc")
 (if (file-exists-p "/usr/lib/emacs/site-lisp/w3-init.el") (load "w3-init"))
 (autoload 'lout-mode "lout-mode" "Mode for editing Lout source" t)
 (setq auto-mode-alist (append '(("\\.lout$" . lout-mode)) auto-mode-alist))
 (require 'vm-init)

This caused Emacs to fail to start because of the changed version
number in the pathname for jka-compr.

IMO this entry should not have used an absolute pathname, rather, it
should rely on the load-path.

If it did need an absolute pathname the Emacs postinst should have
fixed it up.

Ian.

---

From: [email-masked] (Mark W. Eichin)
Date: 29 Aug 1996 03:21:48 -0400

Did you upgrade from 19.29-3 to 19.31-2 as indicated in your message,
or to 19.34-2, which is current? (I ask, because I just got the bug
report today, and it appears to be about a day old -- but if you
actually reported it before 8/27, then there is a bug tracking problem
that needs attention.)

I can see about making the emacs postinst smarter, but it's clear that
the line you quoted from site-start was what was wrong in the first
place.  I don't know, however, what package included it (which is a
part of the reason for the change in the way startup code is handled...)

---

From: Ian Jackson <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 31 Aug 96 18:08 BST

Mark W. Eichin writes ("Re: Bug#4329: Emacs has hardcoded path for jka-compr, breaks at upgrade"):
> or to 19.34-2, which is current?

19.34-2 hasn't reached my local mirror yet.  Isn't it still in
Incoming ?

>  (I ask, because I just got the bug

Years only have 12 months, ITYSBT.  Perhaps you meant the 27th of
August, aka 27.8.1996 aka 1996-8-27 ? [1]

If you look at the headers of the messages you'll see that I reported
it at 02:23 BST (= 01:23 GMT) on the 29th.

> part of the reason for the change in the way startup code is handled...)

Right ...

Ian.

[1] Yes, I know it was probably deliberate, but American middle-endian
date-formats are stupid and confusing and I want them stamped out.