Re: completion widgets in menu selection

["E. Jay Berkenbilt" <ejb@ql.org>]

[This message is primarily directed at Sven, Andrej, and Bart.]

I keep hoping I'm going to have time to really study the 58 messages
in my zsh inbox but I don't know when that's going to happen, so I'm
breaking down and sending this message.

In the last several weeks, I raised three issues on this list:

 1. a|TAB being broken (which was fixed and I assume committed to
    CVS)

 2. being able to more flexibly say that the completion rules for one
    command should be identical to another (as in _rlogin) without
    requiring Draconian restrictions on how completion functions
    should be organized

 3. (my favorite) being able to insert all completions that match the
    current shell globbing expression into the commandline.

The first issue is obviously resolved.  The second issue has generated
less traffic than the third and I haven't had much trouble following.
It seems like a good track is being followed.

On the final issue, I'm confused about where things are going.  I've
decided that, as Bart suspected all along, I don't really like TAB
automatically "expanding" my glob expression even in the case of cvs
add.  What I think I really like is the _insert_all_matches option.
That way I can hit TAB to see what would complete without actually
having the completion be done, and if I'm satisfied, do something like
^Xi to do the expansion.  Has this functionality actually been added,
or was it just discussed?

More recently, there's been a discussion of adding some ability in
menu completion to have one option that inserts all matches.  This
seems quite compelling, but what about those of us who don't use menu
completion?  Maybe I should try menu completion for a while.  I may
end up liking it.  The main thing is (and this is why I've reversed my
position on TAB automatically expanding for non-unique match
situations) I really don't like my commandline changed when what I've
typed isn't unique.  My standard mode of operation is that I type as
much as I think I need to and hit TAB.  Then, based on what I see, I
type enough extra to get a unique match.  This process is all
subconscious and is the one I've used since the days of the
AT&T-encumbered enhanced csh with completion from the late '80s. :-)

So.... if someone could humor me and summarize what has been firmly
decided (and committed to CVS) on this issue and what options are
still under discussion, I'd be grateful.  In the mean time, maybe I'll
grab the latest CVS release and/or play with menu completion.  Any
guestimates on when a dev7 will be released?  Such an event would be
announced to this list, right?

Thanks for your help.

--
E. Jay Berkenbilt (ejb@ql.org)  |  http://www.ql.org/q/