Re: obsolete comment in tool-bar.el

[Stefan Monnier]

>    Loading a file should change Emacs's state as little as possible, so the
>    init-value of a minor mode should *describe* (not determine) the default
>    state of the minor-mode (in the case where the minor-mode function is not
>    executed).

> I understood that.  However setting the mode variable to t without
> enabling the mode has some very bad consequences, to the point that I
> believe it could be considered an outright bug.  If the mode has a
> lighter, the mode line claims that the mode is enabled, whereas it is
> not, confusing the user.  Even though the mode variable is non-nil,
> the mode is disabled, so `M-x foo-mode' should enable it.  Instead,
> `M-x foo-mode' is actually a no-op in this situation, which is also
> very confusing to the user.

No, you did not understand, please re-read.  Think about the difference
between describing and determining.  If without running the minor-mode
function its state is inactive, then the init-state has to be nil.
The init-state should only ever be t if the mode is active even without
having ever run the minor-mode function.


        Stefan