Add counsel-bookmarked-directory

[akirak]

This command was originally named ivy-bookmarked-directory, but I got a suggestion to add it as an alternative command, so I added this to counsel package. If you don't mind, I would like you to add this command.

[basil-conto]

Neither the variable name nor the docstring make it clear that the value should/can be a format string. I'm not familiar with how it's used yet, but at first glance a name like counsel-bookmarked-directory-format or similar would seem more intuitive.

[akirak]

I simply omitted this custom variable. Thanks.

[basil-conto]

You should use the function ivy--dirname-p instead of this. Even on non-POSIX systems, Emacs understands POSIX filenames, so Elisp programs should almost never have to deal with path separators, which is very brittle; see (elisp) File Names.

[basil-conto]

You can use the built-in sort instead of cl-sort here.

[basil-conto]

Given my previous comment, this lambda can be replaced with #'ivy--dirname-p.

[basil-conto]

The docstring should mention what values DIR and NAME default to when called interactively.

[akirak]

I have updated the function.

[basil-conto]

You can use let instead of let* here.

[basil-conto]

Why are DIR and NAME separate arguments, rather than a single file name argument?

Why is read-from-minibuffer being used instead of read-directory-name?

If counsel-bookmarked-directory-default-name is always going to be formatted based on default-directory, then what's its purpose? Manipulating file names as strings (e.g. by interpolation) is usually a bad idea, so why not provide a user option counsel-bookmarked-directory-default of type 'directory which will act as the second argument to read-directory-name instead?

[basil-conto]

Nitpick: Use #' instead of '.

[basil-conto]

Ditto.

[basil-conto]

Usually Counsel just calls this "other window".

[akirak]

Thanks for the review. I pushed a new commit that would fix those issues.

[basil-conto]

Nitpick: use #' instead of '.

[basil-conto]

Typo: the instead of he.

[basil-conto]

OK, I understand now that this is just meant to be a bookmark name, rather than a directory, which is why read-directory-name isn't used. Either way, no need for both abbr-path and default-name; pick a single descriptive variable name, e.g. abbr-dir, and use that consistently. In fact, I would reuse the argument dir:

(setq dir (abbreviate-file-name (expand-file-name dir)))
(let ((name (read-string (format "Name of new directory bookmark [%s]: " dir)
                         nil nil dir))
      (record `((filename . ,(file-name-as-directory dir))
                (front-context-string)
                (rear-context-string))))
  (bookmark-maybe-load-default-file)
  (bookmark-store name record nil))

[basil-conto]

By the way, these are significant changes (more than ~15 lines), so you need to assign copyright to the FSF in order for them to be merged. Have you already done so? If not, are you willing to? See https://github.com/abo-abo/swiper/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.org#copyright-assignment for some more details on this.

I'm also wondering whether the copyright story is at all affected by the fact that this code already exists as a separate package ivy-bookmarked-directory.

[abo-abo]

I'm also wondering whether the copyright story is at all affected by the fact that this code already exists as a separate package ivy-bookmarked-directory.

This isn't an issue as long as we have CA on the commits that we merge here. But yes, if someone without a CA commits to upstream, then we couldn't merge it here.

[abo-abo]

Please wrap with (delq nil).

[basil-conto]

@akirak Are you willing to start or have you already started the copyright assignment process?

[akirak]

I sent a signed PDF two weeks ago, and the registration process has been just completed!

[abo-abo]

@akirak Merged, thanks. I didn't merge the counsel-bookmarked-directory-add for now; I'm not convinced that it belongs in counsel, since it simply calls read-string with no completion. And it's very similar to the built in C-x r m (bookmark-set).

Can you explain why you added it and the advantages over bookmark-set? If it's really needed, open a new PR.

[akirak]

counsel-bookmarked-directory-add adds a bookmark to the directory rather than to the file. This behaves differently from bookmark-set in many cases, e.g. when the current buffer is a file. Maybe it should be named counsel-add-directory-bookmark, since it is now in counsel package and it needs only counsel- as its naming prefix.

[abo-abo]

But how is it different when you're in a dired buffer and call bookmark-set?

[akirak]

It doesn't make much difference in a dired buffer, but it gives an abbreviate absolute path as the default name.

[abo-abo]

It doesn't make much difference in a dired buffer

Then I'm not convinced we should have it. If I want to bookmark a directory, I always do it from a dired buffer.

[akirak]

I see. I don't mind if the command won't be added to counsel package. Thank you for your comment.