comparison lispref/variables.texi @ 68893:06f938e505d7

(File Local Variables): Clarifications.

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be called later, or an expression that would be executed later, simply
visiting a file could take over your Emacs.  Emacs takes several
measures to prevent this.

@cindex safe local variable
  When Emacs encounters a file local variable whose safety is not
guaranteed, it asks the user whether or not to obey the file variable
specifications.  If the user says no, Emacs ignores @emph{all} the
file variables specified in that file.  A variable can be marked as
@dfn{safe} by setting its @code{safe-local-variable} property.  If the
property is @code{t}, that variable is always considered safe,
regardless of the value assigned to it.  The
@code{safe-local-variable} property can also be a function taking
exactly one argument.  In that case, Emacs considers it safe to give
the variable a certain value if the function returns non-@code{nil}
when called with that value as argument.  Many commonly-encountered
file variables possess @code{safe-local-variable} by default,
including @code{fill-column}, @code{fill-prefix}, and
@code{indent-tabs-mode}.

@defopt safe-local-variable-values
This variable provides another way to mark variables as safe.  It is a
list of cons cells @code{(var . val)}, where @var{var} is a variable
name and @var{val} is a value of that variable that is safe.

When Emacs asks the user whether or not to obey a set of file variable
specifications, the user can choose to mark them as safe.  This adds
those variable-value pairs to @code{safe-local-variable-values}, and
saves it to the user's custom file.
@end defopt

@defun safe-local-variable-p sym val
This function returns non-@code{nil} if it is safe to give @var{sym}
the value @var{val}, based on the above criteria.
@end defun

@cindex risky local variable
Some variables are considered @dfn{risky}.  A variable whose name ends
in any of @samp{-command}, @samp{-frame-alist}, @samp{-function},
@samp{-functions}, @samp{-hook}, @samp{-hooks}, @samp{-form},
@samp{-forms}, @samp{-map}, @samp{-map-alist}, @samp{-mode-alist},
@samp{-program}, or @samp{-predicate} is considered risky.  The
variables @samp{font-lock-keywords}, @samp{font-lock-keywords}
followed by a digit, and @samp{font-lock-syntactic-keywords} are also

@defun risky-local-variable-p sym
This function returns non-@code{nil} if @var{sym} is a risky variable,
based on the above criteria.
@end defun

If a variable is risky, it will not be entered automatically into
@code{safe-local-variable-values} as described above.  Therefore,
Emacs will always query before setting a risky variable, unless the
user explicitly allows it by editing @code{safe-local-variable-values}
via Customize.

68893:06f938e505d7

be called later, or an expression that would be executed later, simply
visiting a file could take over your Emacs.  Emacs takes several
measures to prevent this.

@cindex safe local variable
  A variable can be marked as @dfn{safe} by setting its
@code{safe-local-variable} property.  If the property is @code{t},
setting that variable in a file is always considered safe, regardless
of the value assigned to it.  The @code{safe-local-variable} property
can also be a function of one argument.  In that case, Emacs considers
it safe to give the variable a certain value if the function returns
non-@code{nil} when given that value as argument.  Many
commonly-encountered file variables standardly have
@code{safe-local-variable} properties, including @code{fill-column},
@code{fill-prefix}, and @code{indent-tabs-mode}.

@defopt safe-local-variable-values
This variable provides another way to mark some variable values as
safe.  It is a list of cons cells @code{(@var{var} . @var{val})},
where @var{var} is a variable name and @var{val} is a value which is
safe for that variable.

When Emacs asks the user whether or not to obey a set of file variable
specifications, the user can choose to mark them as safe.  Doing so
adds those variable-value pairs to @code{safe-local-variable-values},
and saves it to the user's custom file.
@end defopt

@defun safe-local-variable-p sym val
This function returns non-@code{nil} if it is safe to give @var{sym}
the value @var{val}, based on the above criteria.
@end defun

@cindex risky local variable
  Some variables are considered @dfn{risky}.  A variable whose name
ends in any of @samp{-command}, @samp{-frame-alist}, @samp{-function},
@samp{-functions}, @samp{-hook}, @samp{-hooks}, @samp{-form},
@samp{-forms}, @samp{-map}, @samp{-map-alist}, @samp{-mode-alist},
@samp{-program}, or @samp{-predicate} is considered risky.  The
variables @samp{font-lock-keywords}, @samp{font-lock-keywords}
followed by a digit, and @samp{font-lock-syntactic-keywords} are also

@defun risky-local-variable-p sym
This function returns non-@code{nil} if @var{sym} is a risky variable,
based on the above criteria.
@end defun

  If a variable is risky, it will not be entered automatically into
@code{safe-local-variable-values} as described above.  Therefore,
Emacs will always query before setting a risky variable, unless the
user explicitly allows it by editing @code{safe-local-variable-values}
via Customize.