[tex-k] Path without !! but with a ls-R file

[Manuel Pégourié-Gonnard]

Hi Karl, hi all,

In texdoc, I'm manually traversing trees while looking for files.
Currently, if a ls-R file is found, texdoc uses it rather than looking
in the filesystem. So, if an obsolete ls-R file is present in some tree
(say TEXMFHOME) where it is not mandatory, documentation files newer
than the ls-R file will not be found by texdoc.

Arguably, people shouldn't have obsolete ls-R files. However, kpsewhich
still finds files in such trees, though they are not in the ls-R files.
I assume this is an effect of the must_exist parameter, which makes it
look in the filesystem if the file wasn't found in the database. Since I
don't know which file exactly I'm looking for in texdoc (rather trying
to match a some patterns), I can't use this approach.

So, in your opinion, what is "the right thing" to do? Always ignore ls-R
files if they are not mandatory? Or consider that if the ls-R file is
obsolete, then it's the user's fault?

Thanks,
Manuel.

PS: while we're at it... when texdoc looks in a tree without recursion
(no trailing //), it always use the filsystem even if a ls-R file is
found and !! is present. Do you consider it "wrong"?