Re: nnml groups showing up with '*' at startup

[Katsumi Yamaoka <yamaoka@jpl.org>]

On Tue, 24 Nov 2015 11:40:59 +0900, Katsumi Yamaoka wrote:
>> --- a/lisp/nnml.el
>> +++ b/lisp/nnml.el
>> -(deffoo nnml-retrieve-groups (groups &optional server)
>> -  (when nnml-get-new-mail
>> -    (if (nnmail-get-new-mail-per-group)
[...]

> Removing this made Gnus work as before, too.  So far I don't
> know why/how it does wrong,

As for at least a non-ASCII group name like "nnml:テスト" I found
the cause of the problem.

・Gnus uses an encoded group name of the unibyte version to access
  that group.  By default utf-8 is used for encoding, i.e.:
  "nnml:テスト" -> "nnml:\343\203\206\343\202\271\343\203\210"
・`nnml-retrieve-groups' inserts an encoded group name to the
  `nntp-server-buffer', in which the multibyteness is turned on.
・`gnus-groups-to-gnus-format' reads it using `read'.  Because
  the multibyteness is turned on, the result will be a symbol of
  the multibyte version, and the active info will be created in
  `gnus-active-hashtb' with a multibyte group name.  That cannot
  be accessed by Gnus.

A quick hack is attached below, although I don't want to install
it because it will probably damage Gnus' speed.  Moreover, it
won't be a fix to Peter's and Adam's problems; both don't seem to
mention groups of non-ASCII names.

> but I think we should remove it if
> it is nonessential and nonurgent.  The function has already been
> in the emacs-25 branch (for releasing Emacs 25.1).

> WDYT Michael?

--- gnus-start.el~	2015-10-01 01:52:23.531908800 +0000
+++ gnus-start.el	2015-11-24 10:38:38.449503300 +0000
@@ -2256,8 +2256,10 @@
 		    (skip-chars-forward " \t")
 		    (insert prefix)
 		    (goto-char opoint)
-		    (set (let ((obarray hashtb)) (read cur))
-			 (cons min max)))
+		    (gnus-sethash
+		     (string-as-unibyte (symbol-name (read cur)))
+		     (cons min max)
+		     hashtb))
 		(error (and group (symbolp group) (set group nil))))
 	      (forward-line 1)))
 	(let (min max group)