Re: Emacs script options

[Bob Rogers]

   From: Sebastian Miele <iota@whxvd.name>
   Date: Sat, 18 Nov 2023 20:18:00 +0100

   > From: Greg Minshall <minshall@umich.edu>
   > Date: Fri, 2023-11-17 19:13 -0800

   . . .

   > the below patch to src/emacs.c (**) treats a "-x" (and its "partner"
   > "-scripteval") like a "--" on the command line, and *seems* to allow
   > arbitrary options on the command line.  for example, with this patch
   > installed:
   >
   > ----
   > % ./foo.sh --eval
   > command-line-args-left (--eval)
   > ----

   On Linux that can be achieved by defining a custom interpreter . . .

   However, the workaround is not possible on at least some non-Linux
   systems, because not all systems allow something interpreted as an
   interpreter in a shebang, see
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shebang_(Unix)#Syntax.

A more portable option might be for emacs itself to change its startup
behavior if invoked under a special name.  For example, if you used an
"emacscript" alias, emacs would assume "--batch --load" and defer the
rest of its argument processing to the script.  That would make life
easy on Unix-like systems.  And you could just do

        emacscript script-name.el ...

on non-Unix systems.

   ================
   From: Greg Minshall <minshall@umich.edu>
   Date: Sat, 18 Nov 2023 11:36:52 -0800

   . . .

   i'd like the users (hah!) to be able to type
   ----
   ./random-script -d --base-dir ${PWD}/foo
   ----
   rather than
   ----
   ./random-script -- -d --base-dir ${PWD}/foo
   ----

   cheers, Greg

   (truth in advertising: in addition to this *application*, i also -- for
   this application, really -- wrote some emacs-getopt package that would
   probably benefit from such a facility.)

I am reminded of the emacs-lisp email server I wrote 30 years ago
. . . it ran for about 8 years.  "emacs --batch" on steroids.  ;-}

                                        -- Bob