From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: main.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Luc Teirlinck Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel Subject: Re: Changes to Texinfo DTD Date: Wed, 3 Dec 2003 21:35:56 -0600 (CST) Sender: emacs-devel-bounces+emacs-devel=quimby.gnus.org@gnu.org Message-ID: <200312040335.hB43ZuS25927@raven.dms.auburn.edu> References: <8765heixvu.fsf@kanga.tapsellferrier.co.uk> <87ptfkdqss.fsf@kanga.tapsellferrier.co.uk> <20031122214251.GA14680@fencepost> <874qwuqjzw.fsf@mail.jurta.org> <200311241619.hAOGJ6W27027@raven.dms.auburn.edu> <200312030147.hB31lUh20316@raven.dms.auburn.edu> <2914-Wed03Dec2003181809+0200-eliz@elta.co.il> NNTP-Posting-Host: deer.gmane.org X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1070509656 20979 80.91.224.253 (4 Dec 2003 03:47:36 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Thu, 4 Dec 2003 03:47:36 +0000 (UTC) Cc: juri@jurta.org, epameinondas@gmx.de, emacs-devel@gnu.org, nferrier@tapsellferrier.co.uk, bob@rattlesnake.com Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+emacs-devel=quimby.gnus.org@gnu.org Thu Dec 04 04:47:32 2003 Return-path: Original-Received: from quimby.gnus.org ([80.91.224.244]) by deer.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 1ARkSi-0006RR-00 for ; Thu, 04 Dec 2003 04:47:32 +0100 Original-Received: from monty-python.gnu.org ([199.232.76.173]) by quimby.gnus.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 1ARkSi-0001DT-00 for ; Thu, 04 Dec 2003 04:47:32 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.24) id 1ARlLs-0005Dp-Cg for emacs-devel@quimby.gnus.org; Wed, 03 Dec 2003 23:44:32 -0500 Original-Received: from list by monty-python.gnu.org with tmda-scanned (Exim 4.24) id 1ARlLn-0005Dk-Tr for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Wed, 03 Dec 2003 23:44:27 -0500 Original-Received: from mail by monty-python.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.24) id 1ARlLG-0004xU-Fi for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Wed, 03 Dec 2003 23:44:25 -0500 Original-Received: from [131.204.53.104] (helo=manatee.dms.auburn.edu) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.24) id 1ARlLG-0004ww-4Q for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Wed, 03 Dec 2003 23:43:54 -0500 Original-Received: from raven.dms.auburn.edu (raven.dms.auburn.edu [131.204.53.29]) by manatee.dms.auburn.edu (8.12.10/8.12.10) with ESMTP id hB43gQKk017066; Wed, 3 Dec 2003 21:42:26 -0600 (CST) Original-Received: (from teirllm@localhost) by raven.dms.auburn.edu (8.11.6+Sun/8.11.6) id hB43ZuS25927; Wed, 3 Dec 2003 21:35:56 -0600 (CST) X-Authentication-Warning: raven.dms.auburn.edu: teirllm set sender to teirllm@dms.auburn.edu using -f Original-To: eliz@elta.co.il In-reply-to: <2914-Wed03Dec2003181809+0200-eliz@elta.co.il> X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.2 Precedence: list List-Id: Emacs development discussions. List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: emacs-devel-bounces+emacs-devel=quimby.gnus.org@gnu.org Xref: main.gmane.org gmane.emacs.devel:18349 X-Report-Spam: http://spam.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.devel:18349 Eli Zaretskii wrote: Do we know what information from the glibc manual is required reading for the reader of the ELisp manual? None. Some readers _might_ need to know more about locales (hence the reference), but the _reason_ they would need that knowledge would definitely not be to understand the Elisp manual. The same is (or so I believe) true for all external references in the Elisp manual, except references to the Emacs manual. The Emacs manual is a prerequisite to understanding the Elisp manual, other manuals are not. Note that this is one more reason why, if a reference refers to another manual, the reader needs to know that and needs to know which manual. If you mention the manual, the user might think that she must read it because it contains some crucial information without which it is impossible to understand the text in point. I doubt that this is the case. As I already said, it indeed is not the case. But (elisp)Locales says as the very last sentence of the note and of the chapter: *Note Locales: (libc)Locales, for more information about locales and locale items. It says: "for more information", it does not say: "If you want to understand anything of what you just read". Portability has nothing to do with this. Portability has a lot to do with this. This is the Elisp manual, not the Emacs manual. The author may want his code to not just work, as efficiently as possible, for his computer and for his locale, but for other people's as well. The question is, again, what exactly we want the user to pick up in the glibc manual. Whichever information the reader happens to need. The reference means: If you need to know something we did not tell you above, here is a reasonable place to search for that information. Sincerely, Luc.