Re: HTML as info format

[Juri Linkov <juri@jurta.org>]

Oliver Scholz <epameinondas@gmx.de> writes:
> You have a point here. If the format would be HTML, it would also be
> possible to address that, by using <h1>, <b>, <i> etc. with the class
> attribute extensivly. The class attribute would specify the
> syntactical information, the raw element name would specify the
> fallback.

There are many other arguments for using HTML as Info format.

Current Info format can't make a link to another part of the same
Info node.  For example, look at the following node:

Default Coding Systems
----------------------
...
 - Variable: auto-coding-regexp-alist
...
 - Variable: file-coding-system-alist
...
 - Variable: process-coding-system-alist
...
     This function looks up the target in `file-coding-system-alist',
     `process-coding-system-alist', or `network-coding-system-alist',
     depending on OPERATION.  *Note Default Coding Systems::.

Currently it has the reference to the top of the same node, which is
pretty useless.  However, evidently the intention was to refer
separately to every of these variables described in the same node.
With HTML it's very easy to achieve by using the character # in href.

The same problem appears in the Glossary node of the Emacs manual,
where links to the same node are marked by the "(q.v.)".  It can be
justified to place such text on paper media, but for electronic
documents, where there are no obstacles to make a link to follow to
another part of the same node, such surrogate links look very dumb.

There are other problems with the current Info format.  For example,
currently there is no way to hide the address part of the link without
corrupting the paragraph formatting.  After hiding the address part of
the link lines become either too short or too long.  For example, lines:

   See *Note Customizing Indentation: (ccmode)Customizing Indentation, for
more information on customizing indentation for C and related modes,

in Info the first line becomes too short:

   See Customizing Indentation for
more information on customizing indentation for C and related modes,

or

     using the `C-x 8' prefix, see *Note C-x 8: Single-Byte Character
     Support.  On X Window systems, your locale should be set to an

in Info it becomes too long, because the newline character in the reference
is hidden:

     using the `C-x 8' prefix, see C-x 8.  On X Window systems, your locale should be set to an

-- 
http://www.jurta.org/emacs/