From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: main.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Luc Teirlinck Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel,gmane.comp.tex.texinfo.bugs Subject: Indices in Info. Date: Mon, 23 Jun 2003 22:42:56 -0500 (CDT) Sender: emacs-devel-bounces+emacs-devel=quimby.gnus.org@gnu.org Message-ID: <200306240342.h5O3guf14997@eel.dms.auburn.edu> NNTP-Posting-Host: main.gmane.org X-Trace: main.gmane.org 1056426232 29548 80.91.224.249 (24 Jun 2003 03:43:52 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@main.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 03:43:52 +0000 (UTC) Cc: karl@freefriends.org Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+emacs-devel=quimby.gnus.org@gnu.org Tue Jun 24 05:43:49 2003 Return-path: Original-Received: from quimby.gnus.org ([80.91.224.244]) by main.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 19Ueij-0007gN-00 for ; Tue, 24 Jun 2003 05:43:49 +0200 Original-Received: from monty-python.gnu.org ([199.232.76.173]) by quimby.gnus.org with esmtp (Exim 3.12 #1 (Debian)) id 19Uem6-0002PM-00 for ; Tue, 24 Jun 2003 05:47:18 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.20) id 19Ueif-0007Vs-VR for emacs-devel@quimby.gnus.org; Mon, 23 Jun 2003 23:43:45 -0400 Original-Received: from list by monty-python.gnu.org with tmda-scanned (Exim 4.20) id 19UeiA-0007MR-RI for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Mon, 23 Jun 2003 23:43:14 -0400 Original-Received: from mail by monty-python.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.20) id 19Uehm-00064u-Uq for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Mon, 23 Jun 2003 23:42:58 -0400 Original-Received: from manatee.dms.auburn.edu ([131.204.53.104]) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.20) id 19Ueha-0005ic-3J; Mon, 23 Jun 2003 23:42:38 -0400 Original-Received: from eel.dms.auburn.edu (eel.dms.auburn.edu [131.204.53.108]) h5O3gaoc028492; Mon, 23 Jun 2003 22:42:36 -0500 (CDT) Original-Received: (from teirllm@localhost) by eel.dms.auburn.edu (8.11.6+Sun/8.11.6) id h5O3guf14997; Mon, 23 Jun 2003 22:42:56 -0500 (CDT) X-Authentication-Warning: eel.dms.auburn.edu: teirllm set sender to teirllm@dms.auburn.edu using -f Original-To: emacs-devel@gnu.org Original-cc: bug-texinfo@gnu.org X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1b5 Precedence: list List-Id: Emacs development discussions. List-Help: List-Post: List-Subscribe: , List-Archive: List-Unsubscribe: , Errors-To: emacs-devel-bounces+emacs-devel=quimby.gnus.org@gnu.org Xref: main.gmane.org gmane.emacs.devel:15200 gmane.comp.tex.texinfo.bugs:1085 X-Report-Spam: http://spam.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.devel:15200 Both Emacs Info and stand-alone Info have some trouble with various index entries. In many cases, the conclusion might be that we should just "outlaw" such entries. Problem 1: both Emacs and stand-alone, or maybe just texinfo.txi g (texinfo)Concept Index Click on: * $Id:: GNU Sample Texts. Result: byte-code: No such anchor in tag table or node in tag table or file: $Id (Emacs) $Id: No such file or directory (stand-alone). Proposed solution: Just institute a convention that an index entry should never end in a colon. Those two colons in an index entry look weird anyway, even if they would not produce a bug. Of course, also follow that convention. Problem 2: Emacs, or maybe texinfo.txi g (texinfo)Command and Variable Index Click on: * (newline): Multiple Spaces. Result: Info-find-node: Info file newline does not exist Reason: Index entry starting with a parenthetical remark. The stand-alone Info correctly visits Multiple Spaces. What is the conclusion here: "Emacs should be able to handle this correctly" or "starting an index entry with a parenthetical remark makes no sense"? In this particular instance, it definitely would seem more logical to have entries named "newline", "space" and "tab", rather than "(newline)", "(space)" and "(tab)". (I guess these were just typos, or not?) Problem 3: No real problem but maybe worth mentioning. Also, should be compared with problem 4. I produced the following index for experimentation purposes: Index ***** * Menu: * Aha: oho: Top. * Oho:ihi: Top. Both Emacs and stand-alone fail to visit "Top" in the first entry. Of course, no bug, but it might be worth emphasizing in (texinfo)Index Entries that an index entry should *never* contain a colon followed by a space or tab. Problem 4: Emacs visits Top in the _second_ entry above, stand-alone Info does not. >>From info.el: ;; - a menu item MAY contain colons but not colon-space ": " ;; - a menu item ending with ": " (but not ":: ") is an index entry ;; - a node name MAY NOT contain a colon ;; This distinction is to support indexing of computer programming ;; language terms that may contain ":" but not ": ". If it is worth while for Emacs Info to support those computer programming language terms, it might also be worth while for the stand-alone version to do so. People constructing index entries do so for both versions, so one should be consistent. All conventions we decide on for index entries could be described in (texinfo)Index Entries. Sincerely, Luc.