bug#23186: 25.0.92; Tramp: Windows does not always set COMSPEC, tramp blows up in a string-match)

[Jerry Asher]

> If the OP answers the question, we might be on a more constructive

path.

You asked for:

> What is the full contents of the environment of the Emacs process when

you run that zapped binary?

My full environment contains a lot of internal information with private data with security implications

+ current directories

+ current projects

+ complete pathnames to various executables

+ firefox plugins

+ firefox plugin directory paths

+ windows directory paths

+ paths to ssh keys

+ complete specification of the windows image I am running

You do not need my full environment, nor would more than a few people give it.

And my full environment is not sufficient either.  You need a knowledge of windows programming.

I cannot supply that. If you cannot, say so.

Jerry

On Sat, Apr 2, 2016 at 1:02 PM, Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org> wrote:

> From: Michael Albinus <michael.albinus@gmx.de>
> Date: Sat, 02 Apr 2016 21:47:48 +0200
> Cc: 23186@debbugs.gnu.org
>
> If you are interested in changing Tramp according to your needs, pls be
> cooperative. Make a proposal about a config option which could be used
> instead of the COMSPEC env which doesn't exist in your environment. Make
> a proposal how to avoid calling cmd.exe at all, it seems not be
> mandatory, I believe. Propose something else what is possible.
>
> Your first proposal, trusting C:\Windows\system32\cmd.exe, hasn't been
> accepted, by reasons Eli has given. And indeed, it looks too me like too
> much heuristic, so I'm with Eli.

I asked a question which might suggest a solution.  The idea is that
if we cannot trust COMSPEC, then we had better made sure what can we
trust in the environment, because Emacs uses the environment variable
for many other important needs, and one way of finding cmd.exe is
through other environment variables.

If the OP answers the question, we might be on a more constructive
path.