Re: Delete variables obsolete since Emacs 23

[Eli Zaretskii]

> From: Jeff Norden <jnorden@tntech.edu>
> Date: Mon, 17 Aug 2020 20:55:56 -0500
> Cc: ghe@sdf.org, stefankangas@gmail.com, rms@gnu.org, 
> monnier@iro.umontreal.ca,
>  emacs-devel@gnu.org
> 
> The elisp manual says:
> 
>     You can mark a named function as "obsolete", meaning that it may be
>     removed at some point in the future.  This causes Emacs to warn that the
>     function is obsolete whenever it byte-compiles code containing that
>     function, and whenever it displays the documentation for that function.
>     In all other respects, an obsolete function behaves like any other
>     function.
> 
> The phrase "may be removed" seems a bit vague.  Would "will be removed" or
> "will probably be removed" be more accurate?

No, it won't.  Primarily because we don't really know whether we will
remove it, let alone when.  It depends on too many factors that we
cannot predict.

> The fact that emacs maintains backward compatibility so well is one of the
> features that I appreciate the most.  But, in this case, the fact that
> interactive-p has been obsolete for so long may give the impression that it
> would continue to be available.

I think the gentle annoyance we have now strikes the right balance
between not letting people forget the fact of obsolescence and not
annoying them too much.  We are talking to adults, not to children, so
we can rely on them doing TRT.