🚀 go-pugleaf

In Version 1.03 of the GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual, under section 19.2
Creating Keymaps, withing the function description for copy-keymap, the third
sentence states:

	However, recursive copying does not take place when the definition of
	a character is a symbol whose function definition is a keymap; the
	same symbol appears in the new copy.

I have verified that this is NOT the case in Emacs 18.54 (on an Apollo), 18.55
(on an Apollo and on a VAX under VMS), and 18.57 (on an Apollo).  When the
definition of a character is a symbol whose function definition is a keymap,
recursive copying still takes place.

To see this for yourself, first notice that in global-map, ^C is defined to be
mode-specific-command-prefix and ESC is defined to be ESC-prefix.  The
function definition of both of these symbols is a keymap.  Nevertheless, if
one executes

	(copy-keymap global-map)

the output does NOT contain the functions mode-specific-command-prefix NOR
ESC-prefix.  Instead, it contains a nested and recursively expanded COPY of the
keymaps specified by mode-specific-command-prefix and ESC-prefix.  I have
found that there are circumstances where it is more desirable to have
copy-keymap behave as it is documented.  

For example, if the terminal type is vt200, then Emacs will load
lisp/term/vt200.el during initialization.  If term-setup-hook is bound to a
function which executes enable-arrow-keys, then ESC-prefix will end up bound
to "\e" AND to the character sequence "\e[23~".  Thus, the map in ESC-prefix
will have a nested character sequence bound back to itself.  Since copy-keymap
does NOT work as documented, if one applies copy-keymap to either global-map
or ESC-prefix, AFTER vt200.el has been loaded and AFTER enable-arrow-keys has
been executed, then Emacs will be stuck in an infinite loop recursive trying
to expand ESC-prefix, until it runs out of memory and dies with a memory
fault.

I would like to see the function copy-keymap enhanced to contain an optional
second parameter which, if set to t, would cause it to behave as described in
the manual.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kevin Gallagher        kgallagh@digi.lonestar.org OR ...!uunet!digi!kgallagh
DSC Communications Corporation   Addr: MS 152, 1000 Coit Rd, Plano, TX 75075
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