Re: (concat "/dir/name/" "foo") --> (expand-file-name "foo" "/dir/name/")

[Kai.Grossjohann@CS.Uni-Dortmund.DE (Kai Großjohann)]

On 13 Oct 2000, Paul Jarc wrote:
> Kai.Grossjohann@CS.Uni-Dortmund.DE (Kai Großjohann) writes:
>> In the Gnus source code, we often have constructs like this:
>> 
>>     (concat "/dir/name/" "file-name")
>> 
>> I think this should be replaced with:
>> 
>>     (expand-file-name "file-name" "/dir/name/")
>> 
>> What do you think?
> 
> It depends on the contents of "file-name".  If it might contain
> something that really needs to be normalized, then it should be
> handed to expand-file-name.  If it should be interpreted literally,
> then expand-file-name might do something unintended.  Consider,
> e.g., "foo/../bar", where foo is a symlink.

Ah.  Right.  Okay, I won't go into a frenzy to change all them concats
to expand-file-name, then :-)

Your comment about expanding a file name once and to reuse the
expanded file name also makes sense.  Hm.

kai
-- 
I like BOTH kinds of music.