Re: Org mode and Emacs (was: Convert README.org to plain text README while installing package)

[Tim Cross <theophilusx@gmail.com>]

Stefan Monnier <monnier@iro.umontreal.ca> writes:

> Rather than try and figure out who's right or wrong, I hope we can take
> advantage of this discussion to get some code out that try to solve
> the problem.
>
> AFAICT the problem seen from Emacs, is that Org is large (even for
> a basic uses, which occasionally leads to high load times) and that it
> doesn't follow all the usual Emacs conventions, such as
> overriding/remapping standard key-bindings (the resulting behaviors may
> sometimes be similar to the standard one, but even when that's the case
> the redefinition can easily bite the user).
>
> The problem seen from Org is that Emacs doesn't use Org enough :-)
> [ This paragraph's shorter length probably reflects the fact that I'm
>   less familiar with Org than with Emacs.  ]
>
> I think the way forward is to define a "basic org-mode".  This one could
> be used at many more places where there's currently an occasional desire
> to use Org that's resisted because of the above problems.
> Ideally, org-mode would then be defined as an extension of this "basic
> org-mode".  Also ideally some of those extensions would be reworked so
> they can be used "Emacs-wide" rather than only in Org (obviously, that
> can only make sense for some of them).
>
> We could start this "basic org-mode" as a trivial copycat of
> `outline-mode` and then start adding Org features to it.  The driving
> constraint is to keep it lightweight and rules-abiding enough that there
> won't be any resistance to using it, while at the same time making sure
> that the features added to it can be removed from the "org-mode
> extension", so that org-mode and "basic org-mode" don't diverge.
>
>

Thanks Stefan and I agree. I also think this is in general exactly the
direction current org maintainers/developers are taking. 

At this point, considerable work is being done (by Ihor and others) to 

- Implement a concise and efficient parser. This has also involved
  refining and clarifying org syntax, which has had some holes and
  ambiguities. 

- Replace org's largely regexp based font locking mechanism with one
  based on the parsing and tagging made possible by the org parser. This
  should improve both performance and accuracy in parsing. 

- Improving efficiency of folding etc

- Improving efficiency with respect to larger org files through the use
  of caching etc. 

- Increasing org's use of built-in Emacs capabilities rather than using
  org specific implementations. For example, adopting transient instead
  of an org implemented module which replicates similar functionality. 

- Increase modularity an enable loading of the functionality that you
  want. 

In particular, the important work being done by Ihor wrt folding,
parsing and caching will provide a core of functionality which can be
used to define something like an org minor mode which could be used in
those situations where we want some basic org functionality, like
folding, navigation and formatting/presentation, but we don't need all
the additional advanced features, such as babel, todo and time
management, spreadsheets, tables and table formulas etc. 

Of course, to what extent Emacs will/should leverage off org mode is a
completely different debate.