First location list item is selected after :ALELint

[infokiller]

Information

VIM version

NVIM v0.4.2 Build type: Release

Operating System: ArchLinux 5.2.18

What went wrong

After liniting is run, the first location list item is selected, which is annoying if you already selected another item.

Reproducing the bug

1. Open a file with multiple errors.
2. Select a location list item other than the first.
3. Run :ALELint (or wait for it to run automatically).

See this screencast for a demo with the minimal vimrc I tested:

:ALEInfo

 Current Filetype: vim
Available Linters: ['ale_custom_linting_rules', 'vint']
  Enabled Linters: ['ale_custom_linting_rules', 'vint']
 Suggested Fixers: 
  'remove_trailing_lines' - Remove all blank lines at the end of a file.
  'trim_whitespace' - Remove all trailing whitespace characters at the end of every line.
 Linter Variables:

let g:ale_vim_vint_executable = 'vint'
let g:ale_vim_vint_show_style_issues = 1
 Global Variables:

let g:ale_cache_executable_check_failures = v:null
let g:ale_change_sign_column_color = 0
let g:ale_command_wrapper = ''
let g:ale_completion_delay = v:null
let g:ale_completion_enabled = 0
let g:ale_completion_max_suggestions = v:null
let g:ale_echo_cursor = 1
let g:ale_echo_msg_error_str = 'Error'
let g:ale_echo_msg_format = '%code: %%s'
let g:ale_echo_msg_info_str = 'Info'
let g:ale_echo_msg_warning_str = 'Warning'
let g:ale_enabled = 1
let g:ale_fix_on_save = 0
let g:ale_fixers = {}
let g:ale_history_enabled = 1
let g:ale_history_log_output = 1
let g:ale_keep_list_window_open = 0
let g:ale_lint_delay = 200
let g:ale_lint_on_enter = 1
let g:ale_lint_on_filetype_changed = 1
let g:ale_lint_on_insert_leave = 1
let g:ale_lint_on_save = 1
let g:ale_lint_on_text_changed = 'normal'
let g:ale_linter_aliases = {}
let g:ale_linters = {}
let g:ale_linters_explicit = 0
let g:ale_list_vertical = 0
let g:ale_list_window_size = 10
let g:ale_loclist_msg_format = '%code: %%s'
let g:ale_lsp_root = {}
let g:ale_max_buffer_history_size = 20
let g:ale_max_signs = -1
let g:ale_maximum_file_size = v:null
let g:ale_open_list = 0
let g:ale_pattern_options = v:null
let g:ale_pattern_options_enabled = v:null
let g:ale_set_balloons = 0
let g:ale_set_highlights = 1
let g:ale_set_loclist = 1
let g:ale_set_quickfix = 0
let g:ale_set_signs = 1
let g:ale_sign_column_always = 0
let g:ale_sign_error = '>>'
let g:ale_sign_info = '--'
let g:ale_sign_offset = 1000000
let g:ale_sign_style_error = '>>'
let g:ale_sign_style_warning = '--'
let g:ale_sign_warning = '--'
let g:ale_statusline_format = v:null
let g:ale_type_map = {}
let g:ale_use_global_executables = v:null
let g:ale_virtualtext_cursor = 0
let g:ale_warn_about_trailing_blank_lines = 1
let g:ale_warn_about_trailing_whitespace = 1
  Command History:

(executable check - success) vint
(finished - exit code 0) ['/bin/zsh', '-c', '''vint'' --version']

<<<OUTPUT STARTS>>>
0.3.21
<<<OUTPUT ENDS>>>

(finished - exit code 1) ['/bin/zsh', '-c', '''vint'' -s --no-color --enable-neovim -f "{file_path}:{line_number}:{column_number}: {severity}: {description} (see {reference})" ''/tmp/nvimNzHmTB/1/vimrc-test-loclist''']

<<<OUTPUT STARTS>>>
/tmp/nvimNzHmTB/1/vimrc-test-loclist:6:9: warning: Prefer single quoted strings (see Google VimScript Style Guide (Strings))
/tmp/nvimNzHmTB/1/vimrc-test-loclist:8:9: warning: Prefer single quoted strings (see Google VimScript Style Guide (Strings))
<<<OUTPUT ENDS>>>

[w0rp]

I'm not sure if this can be fixed.

[infokiller]

I figured this may not be easy to fix. For the record, I think the most sensible behavior after the list is updated is as following:

• If there's another entry in the exact same position as the previously selected entry (usually because the new linting results contain exactly the same warning/error), select that entry.
• Otherwise, select the nearest entry with a position larger than the previous entry.

[w0rp]

There's no logic for selecting an item, so my guess is that each time the list is replaced, Vim is resetting the selection to the first item again. I'm not aware of a way to prevent that, but maybe someone else might have a suggestion.

[infokiller]

Yes I figured that there's probably no logic for this in the code right now, but only suggested what it should be like if it's added.