bug#11172: 24.0.95; mini-buffer contents is overwritten by output in echo-area

[Peter Dyballa]

Hello!

Here is a simple case, which also shows more than just an annoyance.

Launch just compiled GNU Emacs with -Q, execute in *scratch* buffer

        (add-hook 'dired-mode-hook 'auto-revert-mode) 

and open the recent buffer in dired. Just for fun type

        M-x compile RET

and add some (meaningless) text to the make command or overwrite it with 
./configure <whatever>. Now contemplate a bit, do as if trying to invoke 
configure in the other shell, from which GNU Emacs 24.0.95 was launched, to get 
its options. But type instead

        touch something

Still wait a moment, look at the text in the mini-buffer – oh, it's gone! It 
might be substituted with something like

        Reverting buffer `emacs-24.0.94'.

And when you now go to the Help menu to check "Send Bug Report..." no "*unsent 
Mail ..." buffer will open but the text

        apply: Command attempted to use minibuffer while in minibuffer

will appear in mini-buffer/echo-area.


This can happen quite often, also when contemplating over a regexp, or 
find-grep, or whatever. It might be often easy to get back to the original 
state, by some cursor backward or forward movement, but it is annoying. IMO 
it's cleaner when GNU Emacs would wait a while before spitting out some message 
until I have finished editing in mini-buffer.


In GNU Emacs 24.0.95.1 (x86_64-apple-darwin10.8.0, X toolkit, Xaw3d scroll bars)
 of 2012-04-04 on sumac.fritz.box
Windowing system distributor `The X.Org Foundation', version 11.0.11200000
Configured using:
 `configure '--without-sound' '--without-dbus' '--without-pop'
 '--without-gconf' '--without-gpm' '--with-x-toolkit=athena'
 '--without-xpm' '--without-jpeg' '--without-tiff' '--without-gif'
 '--without-png' '--without-rsvg'
 '--enable-locallisppath=/Library/Application
 Support/Emacs/calendar24:/Library/Application Support/Emacs' 'CFLAGS=-v
 -g -H -pipe -fPIC -fno-common -march=core2 -mtune=core2 -m64 -fast
 -fomit-frame-pointer -msse4.2 -foptimize-register-move -ftree-vectorize
 -fnested-functions' 'LDFLAGS=-Wl,-dead_strip_dylibs -Wl,-bind_at_load
 -Wl,-t'
 
'PKG_CONFIG_PATH=/opt/local/lib/pkgconfig:/opt/local/share/pkgconfig:/usr/lib/pkgconfig''

Important settings:
  value of $LC_ALL: nil
  value of $LC_COLLATE: nil
  value of $LC_CTYPE: de_DE.UTF-8
  value of $LC_MESSAGES: nil
  value of $LC_MONETARY: nil
  value of $LC_NUMERIC: nil
  value of $LC_TIME: nil
  value of $LANG: de_DE.UTF-8
  value of $XMODIFIERS: nil
  locale-coding-system: utf-8-unix
  default enable-multibyte-characters: t

Major mode: Dired by name

Minor modes in effect:
  shell-dirtrack-mode: t
  text-scale-mode: t
  auto-revert-mode: t
  tooltip-mode: t
  mouse-wheel-mode: t
  tool-bar-mode: t
  menu-bar-mode: t
  file-name-shadow-mode: t
  global-font-lock-mode: t
  font-lock-mode: t
  blink-cursor-mode: t
  auto-composition-mode: t
  auto-encryption-mode: t
  auto-compression-mode: t
  line-number-mode: t
  transient-mark-mode: t

Recent input:
<down-mouse-1> <mouse-1> <down-mouse-2> <mouse-2> C-j 
C-x d <return> <S-down-mouse-1> <S-drag-mouse-1> <S-down-mouse-1> 
<help-echo> M-x c o m p i l e <return> b d s c l n 
S <down-mouse-1> <mouse-1> <help-echo> <help-echo> 
<help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <menu-bar> 
<help-menu> <send-emacs-bug-report> <down-mouse-1> 
<mouse-1> <C-down-mouse-1> <help-echo> <help-echo> 
<help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <help-echo> <menu-bar> 
<help-menu> <send-emacs-bug-report>

Recent messages:
For information about GNU Emacs and the GNU system, type C-h C-a.
Mark set
ls does not support --dired; see `dired-use-ls-dired' for more details.
Reverting buffer `emacs-24.0.94'.
apply: Command attempted to use minibuffer while in minibuffer


--
Greetings

  Pete

The future will be much better tomorrow.
                                – George W. Bush