Re: Unsafe variable in a saved *compilation* buffer

[Stefan Monnier]

>     Presumably if it's saved, it'll be saved in that same directory, so
>     it'll work just as well without the default-directory
>     file-local variable.

> The user could save it anywhere.  He might not want to save it
> in the directory with the source files.

Indeed, but it's hardly specific to compilation-mode.  Any buffer content
that contains relative file names will lose some of its meaning if it gets
saved in another directory.  I'd expect users to know that.  And even if
they aren't careful, the only end-result should be reasonable:  when the
user clicks on a compilation message, Emacs can't find the relevant source
file and asks the user to provide it.

For me it's much more common to access the same file under different names
(typically via sshfs or Tramp, but also depending on if I'm on the server
or on an NFS client, ...).  And I always get surprised that even though
I was careful to save the file where it belongs, compilation can't find
the sources.  Worse yet: I get surprising behavior on some commands because
default-directory is not what I expect.

> ISTR that I added this because I ran into problems without it.

What were those problems?


        Stefan