Re: Completing parameter names that have yet to be set.

[Sven Wischnowsky <wischnow@informatik.hu-berlin.de>]

Felix Rosencrantz wrote:

> Since there is some talk about parameter completion...  I've had a
> custom version of _parameter for some time that I've been meaning to
> document and submit.  The customization was that it could complete
> parameters that were not yet set.  Using a style, the user specifies a
> list of parameters that they want zsh to know about to complete.
> 
> For example, with the zsh distribution there is the TESTNUM environment
> variable, which can be used to specify a subset of the zsh tests when
> running "make check" . However, most of the time this environment
> variable is unset.  I can't always remember the special variable.  So
> it's nice that zsh completion can.

That's why I gave the `fake' style such a generic name. Although that
probably wasn't so clever, because the value-formats may have to
differ for different types of completions to fake.

> I think it would be useful if the style specification allowed for descriptions
> of these parameters.  The descriptions could be used for parameters that
> are already set.  Though I'm not sure how to do this (with _values?).

`fake' doesn't allow this yet (and the way it is used makes it hard
(and probably a bit ugly, code-wise) to implement it there). But of
course one can always do it with tag-labels and ignored-patterns.

> ...
> 
> It seems like the ability to tell zsh of words that can't be found by
> querying the system (e.g. these parameter names, files that don't exist
> yet, etc. ) would be useful.  I was thinking that it would be useful
> to add some generic code that would (maybe a completer). Maybe using
> the new cache system. The code would allow the user to specify a set of
> words to be tossed in with the words that standard completion functions
> complete.  I'm not sure what would be a good solution.  This is more
> meant to provoke some response/thought by the completion gurus.  

Given that the faked completions depend on the contexts, the type of
completions and the user's preferences, I don't know how a function
could help here. Maybe we'll just have to use `fake' (or several
`fake-this-or-that' styles that replace `fake'), get some experience
with it and then find out if and how we can improve it. And if it's
needed.



--
Sven Wischnowsky                         wischnow@informatik.hu-berlin.de