Re: C-x C-b and C-x C-f bugging about confirmation

[Chong Yidong]

Stefan Monnier <address@hidden> writes:

> In my experience typos are a lot more common than opening a
> nonexistent file.

It's a matter of usage patterns.  For myself, this change will probably
be triggered hundreds or thousands of times for each mistake caught.

> (most commonly after a TAB completion which completed less than
> expected)

Hitting TAB after completion gives the message "[Sole completion]",
which tells you that you have what you want.

> My take on it is that if the feature had been the default from the
> beginning, nobody would even contemplate adding a
> `confirm-nonexistent-file-or-buffer' option just to save themselves
> typing RET one extra time when creating a new file.

But it has not been the default from the beginning, and it deviates from
established rules about how the minibuffer behaves.  One expects RET,
unlike TAB, to submit the minibuffer input.  (The only time RET doesn't
do that is in an "error situation"---a minibuffer is expects an exact
match and you haven't supplied that.)  Hence this double-RET behavior,
with its cryptic "[Confirm]" prompt, is jarring.