From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!.POSTED!not-for-mail From: Emanuel Berg Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Re: Transposing words over middle words Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2017 21:52:38 +0100 Message-ID: <86y3n439wp.fsf@zoho.com> References: <20171115155650067497545@bob.proulx.com> <87vaia9e9v.fsf@mbork.pl> <86d14h6hy1.fsf@zoho.com> <8cc45c1a-d640-4841-9179-b756f2694271@default> <86zi7l4ypn.fsf@zoho.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: blaine.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain X-Trace: blaine.gmane.org 1510952007 10141 195.159.176.226 (17 Nov 2017 20:53:27 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@blaine.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 17 Nov 2017 20:53:27 +0000 (UTC) User-Agent: Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Emacs/24.4 (gnu/linux) To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Fri Nov 17 21:53:23 2017 Return-path: Envelope-to: geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([208.118.235.17]) by blaine.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.84_2) (envelope-from ) id 1eFndZ-0002Fl-Jd for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Fri, 17 Nov 2017 21:53:21 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([::1]:47798 helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1eFndg-00078H-SD for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Fri, 17 Nov 2017 15:53:28 -0500 Original-Received: from eggs.gnu.org ([2001:4830:134:3::10]:42464) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1eFndD-00078A-KY for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Fri, 17 Nov 2017 15:53:00 -0500 Original-Received: from Debian-exim by eggs.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1eFnd9-0003VX-Ol for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Fri, 17 Nov 2017 15:52:59 -0500 Original-Received: from [195.159.176.226] (port=53705 helo=blaine.gmane.org) by eggs.gnu.org with esmtps (TLS1.0:RSA_AES_128_CBC_SHA1:16) (Exim 4.71) (envelope-from ) id 1eFnd9-0003Ra-I8 for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Fri, 17 Nov 2017 15:52:55 -0500 Original-Received: from list by blaine.gmane.org with local (Exim 4.84_2) (envelope-from ) id 1eFncv-00007K-Ua for help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org; Fri, 17 Nov 2017 21:52:41 +0100 X-Injected-Via-Gmane: http://gmane.org/ Mail-Followup-To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org Original-Lines: 42 Original-X-Complaints-To: usenet@blaine.gmane.org Mail-Copies-To: never Cancel-Lock: sha1:657FdIgQPV5wWV1H6+RYtMPS9P4= X-detected-operating-system: by eggs.gnu.org: GNU/Linux 2.2.x-3.x [generic] [fuzzy] X-Received-From: 195.159.176.226 X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.21 Precedence: list List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Original-Sender: "help-gnu-emacs" Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:114942 Archived-At: Drew Adams wrote: >>>> By the way, what does `special' do? >>>> ;; FIXME document SPECIAL. (defun transpose-subr (mover arg &optional special) "Document SPECIAL" - good idea :) >>> >>> https://debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/bugreport.cgi?bug=29328 >> >> Good. Now it says so in the source, I said >> it here, and you said it on debbugs. >> That should be enough. > > Alas, far from enough. > > The bug was was closed summarily, under the > pretext that it's impossible to describe > parameter SPECIAL, and that this is only an > "internal subroutine" so it need not have > complete doc. If it is impossible to describe what it does then what value (purpose) does it have? (I confess I do not understand this from the source.) If `transpose-subr' is internal and for that reason doesn't need documentation, whatever logic now that is, why is there a docstring to begin with? Now it is just confusing to have a docstring and to look in vain for SPECIAL. In programming, there isn't really any "bike-shedding". Even a minor issue can bring the whole thing down. Better to have the intention to do everything as close to perfection as possible. If you instead start thinking "isn't there something better to do?" - well, of course there is, but the result might instead be nothing at all is ever done. -- underground experts united http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573