Re: [PATCH] Make _expand handle aliases (was Re: [PATCH] Make _expand_alias more usable as a completer)

[Bart Schaefer <schaefer@brasslantern.com>]

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On Thu, May 5, 2022 at 10:58 PM Marlon Richert <marlon.richert@gmail.com>
wrote:

> On Fri, Apr 1, 2022 at 3:37 AM Bart Schaefer <schaefer@brasslantern.com>
> wrote:
> > Furthermore, the behavior is a bit odd.  With the patch, given an
> > alias named "xyz", and completer style _expand _complete, if you type
> > TAB after "xy" you get "xyz " (with trailing space).  Since TAB after
> > "xyz" yields the the value of the alias, the added space feels wrong;
>
> I don't like the way the space is added either, but it worked like
> that before, too.


But before it was arguably correct, because you're completing a command,
not performing an expansion; theoretically there's nothing left to do to
the word after it completes.


> I suppose it's better to be offered as part of
> completing aliases, but listed separately, after the actual alias
> completions.
>

This is tricky, because if you complete (rather than expand) to a value
that has multiple shell words, you can't enter normal menu completion --
the next TAB will find that the line has new words on it and start a new
completion in that context.  Which might be the behavior you want here, but
would definitely need to be a style setting.

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