Re: query-replace-interactive

[Stefan]

> But the last search string still could be used as the `default'
> argument of `read-from-minibuffer'.  This is not quite a "default"
> value but rather what the Emacs manual names as "future history" value,
> i.e. the value available with M-n.

I think we've already agreed that M-% should offer

   Query replace (default foo -> bar): 

i.e. default to redo the same replace as last time, rather than use the
last search string.

> I implemented it having in mind users' requests for the ability to
> copy words from the buffer into the from-string.  Now this is possible
> by typing:

> C-s C-w C-w ... M-%

C-SPC M-f M-f ... M-w M-% C-y

with the advantage that it works not just for "take words and pass them to
M-%" but for non-words as well and for other commands than M-%.
Other cases could be

M-C-SPC M-C-SPC ... M-w M-% C-y

> But with using the last search string as a "default" value there is
> no need for an additional prompt, because to edit the from-string
> before making replacements, the user can type:

> C-s C-w C-w ... RET M-% M-n

Nowadays, I never use M-% directly  other than to redo the last replace.
I.e. instead of

   M-% foo RET bar RET

I always do

   C-s foo M-% bar RET

that also allows me to easily choose regexp-or-no, delimited-or-no, and
case-fold-or-no without having to remember whether it's C-M-% or C-u M-%
or ...

> I agree.  But I also think we should revert its definition from
> defcustom back to defvar,

Sure.

>> I also incidentally suggest that
>> isearch-query-replace don't do (call-interactively 'query-replace) but use
>> (perform-replace isearch-string nil t isearch-regexp isearch-word) instead.
>                                   ===
> If the argument `replacements' is nil, this function signals an error.
> Moreover, it's impossible to guess the to-string, so asking for it from
> the user is still inevitable.

Oh, right, I forgot that part of my local hacks

    --- orig/lisp/replace.el
    +++ mod/lisp/replace.el
    @@ -1336,6 +1366,10 @@
                    (funcall (car replacements) (cdr replacements)
                             replace-count)
                    noedit nil))
    +       (unless next-replacement
    +         (setq next-replacement
    +               (read-string "Replace with: " nil nil
    +                            from-string)))
            (if (not query-flag)
                (let ((inhibit-read-only
                       query-replace-skip-read-only))

Obviously, it's not good enough.  But we can easily take out the "read
`to'" part of query-replace-read-args.  The point about using
perform-replace is that it allows us to obey both isearch-regexp and
isearch-word without doing any if-gymnastic.


        Stefan