Re: [RFC] Option to kill `emacs --daemon' when closing the last client frame

[Jim Porter]

On 10/22/2021 4:58 AM, Stefan Monnier wrote:
> > This would allow for a behavior similar to other (graphical) programs: if
> > I run `firefox example.com', it starts a new instance as normal. If I run it
> > again, it opens a new tab in the existing instance. If I close all the
> > Firefox windows, all the associated processes terminate.
>
> I guess it would make sense to try and distinguish the two cases:
>
> - Eager: `emacs --daemon` is run (typically from something like a login
>    script or systemd) before any emacsclient is involved.
> - Lazy: `emacs --daemon` is started on-demand by the `-a` option
>    of `emacsclient` (or via ALTERNATE_EDITOR).
>
> In the lazy case, we could kill the daemon when the last client exits.

I posted a series of patches going this route here: 
<https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-gnu-emacs/2021-10/msg02184.html> 
(see also my followups in that bug).

To briefly summarize, I added a `--lazy-daemon' flag that indicates the 
(background) daemon was started on-demand, and then consult that via a 
new function `daemon-type' to adjust the behavior. There's probably more 
work to be done with that (e.g. customization options for users to tweak 
the behavior to their preferences), but it works for me so far.

Hopefully with actual patches showing what I'd like, it'll be easier for 
people to see precisely what behavior I'm after. Of course, if no one 
else has any interest in things working this way, then it might not make 
sense to merge the patches. No matter what, I can always take the Lisp 
portions for my own configuration so that things work the way I want.

- Jim