blue today

[Aidan Kehoe]

 Ar an seachtú lá de mí Feabhra, scríobh Eric S. Johansson: 

 > reply to the list as well
 > 
 > On 2/7/2011 8:59 AM, Jeff Sparkes wrote:
 > > Which version of windows and which version of xemacs? I don't have
 > > %HOME% set, but xemacs-21.5.29 expands ~ to my login directory on both
 > > Windows XP and Windows Server 2008. However, on XP it doesn't set the
 > > HOME env variable.
 > XEmacs version 21.5.29 as well.
 > 
 > It seems to think the home directory is c:\windows\system32\ which is
 > kind of weird. Unless maybe it's because I'm starting off of the
 > shortcuts menu. I tried ~ and it ends up at the right directory
 > (c:\Users\esj
 > 
 > (expand-file-name "~")
 > "c:\\Users\\esj"
 > 
 > yet when I did that before, it didn't work with or without the home directory.  
 > that's very weird.
 > 
 > Question 1) why is it waking up in the system 32 drectory?
 > Question 2) how do I fix that problem (and yes, I do consider it a problem)
 > question 3) where will my .xemacs directory end up? System 32 or ~/  (tested and 
 > found ~/ )

It prefers the HOME environment variable to the HOMEPATH (and HOMEDRIVE)
environment variables, but it will use the latter if HOME is not available. 
E.g. when I launch a native-build XEmacs I get the following results in
*scratch*: 

(expand-file-name "~")
=> "c:\\Documents and Settings\\aidan"
(getenv "HOME")
=> nil
(getenv "HOMEDRIVE")
=> "C:"
(getenv "HOMEPATH")
=> "\\Documents and Settings\\aidan"

I don’t understand why Eric is ending up in the system32 directory, unless
the HOME environment variable is set to point to it. Eric, what’s the output
of the above when your XEmacs thinks the home directory is
C:\Windows\System32 ?

Also, native Win32 XEmacs won’t modify the HOME environment variable for any
subshells. This is appropriate, because those subshells are native Win32
programs, and there’s no particular reason to assume that they will examine
the HOME environment variable to work out the user’s home directory (since
HOMEPATH and HOMEDRIVE are far more appropiate.)

-- 
“Apart from the nine-banded armadillo, man is the only natural host of
Mycobacterium leprae, although it can be grown in the footpads of mice.”
  -- Kumar & Clark, Clinical Medicine, summarising improbable leprosy research