Re: C-r and C-s in minibuffer should search completion

[Stefan Monnier]

>> How would that help?  M-r/M-s doesn't seem to search minibuffer-default.

> It would be trivial to add in `previous-matching-history-element' the
> same extending a list of defaults with a list of completions when M-s
> hits the bottom of the list.

Oh, I see, so I didn't miss anything.  I guess that's OK, except that
part is still missing ;-)
And since C-s works better anyway (who wants non-incremental search
when you can have isearch instead).

>> This is not good when the completion table is a function that takes
>> a long time, because then you have to wait for the completion table to
>> be built before you can get the actual real DEF.

> Just as when the user needs to see a full list of completions, the user
> can bear a long time to build the completion table, when the user needs
> to search a full list of completions, it is exactly the same situation:

The difference is that in this case the user may not want to search
anything at all, she just wants her M-n to bring up the default which
was already provided and doesn't require any computation.

> (though I don't know where in Emacs building the completion table takes
> too long time, even C-h f takes less than 1 sec on modern hardware, and
> woman takes 2 sec to build her very large completion table but does before
> displaying the minibuffer.)

Believe me there are such cases.  Info-lookup is one, M-. is another,
Tramp is yet another, tags-completion in PCL-CVS, .... the list goes on
and on.

>> Better would be to call the function only after we consumed
>> minibuffer-default.  Or maybe only do it when the completion-table is
>> not a function.

> It now calls the function after moved below minibuffer-default so it seems
> this is good,

There seem to be some typo or something missing from your sentence, but
IIUC you have implemented what I suggested so that M-n only computes the
completion table after having consumed the normal defaults?  Can you
send the new code?


        Stefan