Re: New version of todo-mode.el (announcement + user guide)

[Jambunathan K <kjambunathan@gmail.com>]

Wrt, todo-mode vs org-mode, there was a question:

  Does Org do that already?

The answer to the above question by can be found by answering another
question:

  Can I use a Samurai sword as shavin blade? [1]

The essential difference is in (and derives from) their underlying data
model.

Todo-mode uses a format defined by diary

   (info "(emacs) Diary")
   (info "(emacs) Format of Diary File")

Org-mode is a rebel.  Org-mode rolls it's own data format.  Org allows
importing of diary entries but actively encourges NON-reliance on diary
file.

    (info "(org) Weekly/daily agenda")

Furthermore, Org's agenda buffer (which is the equivalent of diary
display) is incompatible with diary format. [2]

----------------------------------------------------------------

In the obsolete version of legacy todo-mode file [3], I see mentions of
Carsten Dominik.  So I believe Carsten was very familiar with todo-mode
and his experience with todo-mode also fed in to design of Org-mode.

,----
| ;;      Carsten Dominik <dominik@strw.LeidenUniv.nl> suggested that
| ;;
| ;;          "&%%(todo-cp)"
| ;;
| ;;      might be nicer and to that effect a function has been declared
| ;;      further down in the code.  You may wish to auto-load this.
| ;;
| ;;      Carsten also writes that that *changing* the prefix after the
| ;;      todo list is already established is not as simple as changing
| ;;      the variable - the todo files have to be changed by hand.
`----

----------------------------------------------------------------

[1] I hope the answer is NO.  I haven't seen or used samurai sword.  I
just use it because it sounds fancy.  May be Wikipedia mentions it, I
don't know...

[2] Incompatible, atleast with factory settings of Org and Diary.  

For example, if I create a single TODO item In Org, copy the daily
agenda verbatim to the diary file, I see that the whole calendar lights
up with entries.  

My gut feeling is that with some simple processing of Org agenda buffer
and with some simple diary customization (of date format), it should be
possible for Org to "export" to a standard Emacs diary file.

[3] lisp/obsolete/otodo-mode.el