From: Paul Eggert <eggert@cs.ucla.edu>
To: Emacs development discussions <emacs-devel@gnu.org>
Subject: version vs edition numbers in Emacs manuals
Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2019 17:35:53 -0700 [thread overview]
Message-ID: <0d07699b-0b9f-fd44-11a2-9058c9eaa02b@cs.ucla.edu> (raw)
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I noticed Glenn's comment at the start of doc/emacs/emacs.texi that
EDITION (which was "Seventeenth") offers nothing that EMACSVER
("27.0.50") does not. I'd go further and say that it's a net minus,
since it's confusing to have competing version numbers for the same thing.
Although separating software version numbers from book edition numbers
made sense in the old days when most users had only low-resolution
displays and/or printers, nowadays the practice appears to be more
trouble than it's worth. So I installed the attached patch, to switch
the main Emacs manuals to simple version numbers like "27.0". Comments
welcome.
[-- Attachment #2: 0001-Omit-edition-numbers-and-dates-in-manuals.patch --]
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From d12c5c21c5aa143965e41e7cd6f8f4a62818e0b5 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Paul Eggert <eggert@cs.ucla.edu>
Date: Fri, 1 Nov 2019 17:24:02 -0700
Subject: [PATCH] Omit edition numbers and dates in manuals
MIME-Version: 1.0
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These seem to cause more confusion than they cure; e.g.,
https://shop.fsf.org/books/gnu-emacs-manual-18th-edition-v-261
currently advertises "18th edition" even as it points to
https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/pdf/emacs.pdf
which says "Seventeenth Edition". It is simpler and less
confusing to stick to one version number like "26.3". If we
need a separate edition number for each printed manual for
some reason (marketing?) we can put “@ifset printed-edition”
around anything specific to the printed editions.
(as opposed to online PDF copies).
* doc/emacs/emacs.texi (EDITION):
* doc/lispintro/emacs-lisp-intro.texi (edition-number, update-date):
* doc/lispref/elisp.texi (VERSION, DATE):
Remove, and remove uses.
---
doc/emacs/emacs.texi | 20 +-------------------
doc/lispintro/emacs-lisp-intro.texi | 7 -------
doc/lispref/elisp.texi | 13 +------------
3 files changed, 2 insertions(+), 38 deletions(-)
diff --git a/doc/emacs/emacs.texi b/doc/emacs/emacs.texi
index a7967ecaee..678ccb9ba5 100644
--- a/doc/emacs/emacs.texi
+++ b/doc/emacs/emacs.texi
@@ -3,28 +3,10 @@
@setfilename ../../info/emacs.info
@settitle GNU Emacs Manual
@include docstyle.texi
-
-@c The edition number appears in more than one place in this file
-@c I don't really know what it means...
-@c For example, it has said "Sixteenth" since sometime in the Emacs 22
-@c series, all through 23, and into 24. So it is not very useful IMO,
-@c and offers nothing that EMACSVER does not. I guess it relates
-@c mainly to the published book sold by the FSF. Hence no longer
-@c bother including it except iftex. Really, I think it should not be
-@c here at all (since anyone can make a pdf version), but should just
-@c be something added by the FSF during the publishing process.
-@c Also, the lispref uses a float (3.0), whereas this uses an ordinal,
-@c so the format is not even consistent.
-@set EDITION Seventeenth
@include emacsver.texi
@copying
-@iftex
-This is the @value{EDITION} edition of the @cite{GNU Emacs Manual},@*
-@end iftex
-@ifnottex
This is the @cite{GNU Emacs Manual},
-@end ifnottex
updated for Emacs version @value{EMACSVER}.
Copyright @copyright{} 1985--1987, 1993--2019 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
@@ -82,7 +64,7 @@
@sp 6
@center @titlefont{GNU Emacs Manual}
@sp 4
-@center @value{EDITION} Edition, Updated for Emacs Version @value{EMACSVER}.
+@center Updated for Emacs Version @value{EMACSVER}
@sp 5
@center Richard Stallman et al.
@page
diff --git a/doc/lispintro/emacs-lisp-intro.texi b/doc/lispintro/emacs-lisp-intro.texi
index 489ba8d6ef..9ad4cf102e 100644
--- a/doc/lispintro/emacs-lisp-intro.texi
+++ b/doc/lispintro/emacs-lisp-intro.texi
@@ -63,10 +63,6 @@
\global\hbadness=6666 % don't worry about not-too-underfull boxes
@end tex
-@c These refer to the printed book sold by the FSF.
-@set edition-number 3.10
-@set update-date 28 October 2009
-
@c For next or subsequent edition:
@c create function using with-output-to-temp-buffer
@c create a major mode, with keymaps
@@ -106,9 +102,6 @@
This is @cite{An Introduction to Programming in Emacs Lisp}, for
people who are not programmers.
@sp 1
-@iftex
-Edition @value{edition-number}, @value{update-date}
-@end iftex
@ifnottex
Distributed with Emacs version @value{EMACSVER}.
@end ifnottex
diff --git a/doc/lispref/elisp.texi b/doc/lispref/elisp.texi
index d667c51d78..652175c395 100644
--- a/doc/lispref/elisp.texi
+++ b/doc/lispref/elisp.texi
@@ -52,12 +52,7 @@
@end ifset
@end tex
-
-@c Version of the manual and of Emacs.
-@c (See comments for EDITION in emacs.texi)
-@set VERSION 3.1
@include emacsver.texi
-@set DATE October 2014
@c in general, keep the following line commented out, unless doing a
@c copy of this manual that will be published. The manual should go
@@ -91,12 +86,7 @@
@c @syncodeindex tp fn
@copying
-@iftex
-This is edition @value{VERSION} of the @cite{GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual},@*
-@end iftex
-@ifnottex
-This is the @cite{GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual}
-@end ifnottex
+This is the @cite{GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual},
corresponding to Emacs version @value{EMACSVER}.
Copyright @copyright{} 1990--1996, 1998--2019 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
@@ -127,7 +117,6 @@
@subtitle @value{voltitle}
@end ifset
@subtitle For Emacs Version @value{EMACSVER}
-@subtitle Revision @value{VERSION}, @value{DATE}
@author by Bil Lewis, Dan LaLiberte, Richard Stallman,
@author the GNU Manual Group, et al.
--
2.23.0
next reply other threads:[~2019-11-02 0:35 UTC|newest]
Thread overview: 10+ messages / expand[flat|nested] mbox.gz Atom feed top
2019-11-02 0:35 Paul Eggert [this message]
2019-11-02 3:07 ` version vs edition numbers in Emacs manuals Jean-Christophe Helary
2019-11-02 7:59 ` Eli Zaretskii
2019-11-02 17:23 ` Paul Eggert
2019-11-02 18:26 ` Eli Zaretskii
2019-11-03 3:26 ` Richard Stallman
[not found] ` <aa8429f8-34d2-e998-2bc6-7f7707b11ded@cs.ucla.edu>
[not found] ` <87h83brvxg.fsf@wjsullivan.net>
[not found] ` <0a820310-d4ce-d9ab-32b0-5d22c00d2122@cs.ucla.edu>
[not found] ` <87sgmvozz9.fsf@wjsullivan.net>
2019-11-12 19:32 ` Fwd: " Paul Eggert
2019-11-14 12:18 ` Eli Zaretskii
2019-11-14 19:42 ` Paul Eggert
2019-11-15 9:29 ` Eli Zaretskii
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