Re: Async package.el

[Dmitry Gutov]

On 04/08/2015 04:32 PM, Stefan Monnier wrote:

> This needs to be fixed.  In PCL-CVS and in VC-Dir, when the async
> operation ends, we merge the result with the current buffer's content.

I think packages are a bit more complex than entries in PCL-CVS and 
VC-Dir, and the effort spend on it might have gone to something else. 
But of course, people only work on what's interesting to them anyway.

> So the user can mark/unmark elements which the async operation is in
> process and these things aren't lost afterwards (and neither is the
> position of point).

We also have `describe-package' buffers, some of which might be open and 
get out of date after one such update (which is probably not that big a 
deal).

Further, we have keyword filtering. So the update would have to keep 
that on too. Any similar feature would also require a change here.

> > And when vc-dir buffer is initially displayed, we don't have any "stale"
> > data about the repository.
>
> In PCL-CVS we did.

Ok, true.

> I'm perfectly OK with changing the "auto-update" so that it's not done
> at every call to list-packages (e.g. once a day is perfectly fine,
> indeed.  I'd even agree with "never" and just let the user request an
> update manually).  What I object to, is to do it even before list-packages
> is invoked.

We could only start those idle updates after list-packages had been 
invoked at least once.