Re: changing function signatures and no library version # => must use too-general test

[Stefan Monnier]

> Yes, I agree with everything you said. It doesn't change the general
> problem, however. Rather than users needing to define their own function
> that does what you wrote above (if case they want to do that in multiple
> places, for instance), Emacs developers should just define a new, different
> function themselves (not pour new wine into old bottles).

I don't know specifically what happened with help-insert-xref-button, but
it's prety common to change a function's list of arguments without
subsantially changing its body and/or its conceptual meaning, in which case
it will usually makes more sense to keep the same name.

Some functions are known to be "exported" in which case we have to be
careful, which is already a pain in the _|_ at times, but if we start to
have to be careful like that with each and every function, it's going to be
*really* annoying.

Next time around you'll come and complain that Emacs-22.1 defined foo-titi
and when its interface was changed in Emacs-22.4 the name was changed to
foo-toto, and when the interface was changed yet again in Emacs-23.1 the name
was changed to foo-titi ('cause the coder didn't know that name had already
been in use a few years back), so now you again have no way to tell whether
foo-titi uses the Emacs-22.1 or the Emacs-23.1 convention.


        Stefan