At 02:03 AM 12/2/99 +0000, you wrote:
>>>>>> "Paul" == Paul Kinnucan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes:
>
> Paul> Hi Karen,
>
> Paul> Did you use customize to set your JDE variables in your
> Paul> .emacs?
> Paul> When customize first became available, I spent a lot of time
> Paul> and effort to convert JDE to use this new facility because it
> Paul> protects users, even experience users, from problems like the
> Paul> one you just encountered. I use customize myself
> Paul> religiously. I NEVER customize the JDE directly in my .emacs
> Paul> file. I urge all JDE users to do so also. You'll save yourself
> Paul> a lot of grief.
>
>
> What Paul says is correct...up to a point!
>
> Whilst custom is very very useful it is limited compared to
>what you can do lisp by hand, although as he says it stops you making
>a lot of mistakes.
>
I never meant to start a debate about custom versus Lisp. Custom clearly is
provided for a specific purpose: to simplify customization of a package in
ways foreseen by the author and for which the author has provided
customization variables. If you want to add or change features in ways not
foreseen by the author, or for which there are no customization variables,
you must turn to Lisp. But to use Lisp to set a customization variable
(i.e., one defined by defcustom) is to miss the point (and the benefits) of
this wonderful new facility.
Note: every JDE "customization" variable, i.e., variable intended to be
used to select a JDE option, is defined by defcustom as opposed to defvar.
In other words, you can use custom to set every JDE customization variable.
So with the JDE, there is no need or excuse to use Lisp to set options.
- Paul
