Re: General variable for verbosity level. (was: saveplace: don't ask for coding system)

[David Reitter]

On 3 Dec 2007, at 01:04, Karl Fogel wrote:
>   message-verbosity-level
>   Variable: Say which messages are printed by `maybe-message' (which  
> see)
>             in non-interactive contexts.

Yes, I would either log all messages to *Messages*, or also create a  
customization variable:

log-verbosity-level
Variable: Maximum level of messages logged to *Messages* by `maybe- 
message'.

>  But should `message-verbosity-level' be a
> number, or something else?  It could be, for example, a symbol:

I think the symbol would be okay, because it is easier to understand,  
and also quite easy to extend.
But some modes (like tramp-mode) already have a numeric system of up  
to ten verbosity levels.

So, perhaps one could allow for numbers, and allow symbols as a  
clearer form that translate directly to numbers, e.g. `none' would be  
0, `important' 2, `verbose' 5,  `all' 10. That way, verbosity is  
indicates as an integer 0..10, with 10 being the most verbose.

That way, we would not lose any specificity in modes like tramp-mode,  
but retain a clean and simply interface for the user.

(But to be honest, either way looks good to me.)

There could be a recommendation for externally maintained modes to  
take use maybe-message, or take this verbosity level as the default  
for an existing verbosity customization.