Re: master dfaf150631: Add a new library to format variable-pitch tables

Re: master dfaf150631: Add a new library to format variable-pitch tables

[Po Lu]

Lars Ingebrigtsen <larsi@gnus.org> writes:

> branch: master
> commit dfaf150631a235f7239774b73676955244513c54
> Author: Lars Ingebrigtsen <larsi@gnus.org>
> Commit: Lars Ingebrigtsen <larsi@gnus.org>
>
>     Add a new library to format variable-pitch tables
>     
>     * doc/misc/vtable.texi (Index): New manual.
>     
>     * lisp/emacs-lisp/vtable.el: New library.
> ---
>  doc/misc/vtable.texi                 | 521 +++++++++++++++++++++++++

I really like the library, but does it warrant an entire manual?

Emacs currently ships with 65 manuals, and I think we don't want any
more, certainly not for a core Lisp library which will hopefully be used
by many important features in the future.

Thanks.

Re: master dfaf150631: Add a new library to format variable-pitch tables

[Lars Ingebrigtsen]

Po Lu <luangruo@yahoo.com> writes:

>>  doc/misc/vtable.texi                 | 521 +++++++++++++++++++++++++
>
> I really like the library, but does it warrant an entire manual?
>
> Emacs currently ships with 65 manuals, and I think we don't want any
> more, certainly not for a core Lisp library which will hopefully be used
> by many important features in the future.

You'd rather have it in the main lispref manual?  That was my original
intention, but it grew kinda long, so I felt it would be better to keep
it separate.

But I don't have any strong opinions here -- the nodes take about 500
lines, which would be an (/ 500.0 100000) => 0.005 increase of the
lispref size.

-- 
(domestic pets only, the antidote for overdose, milk.)
   bloggy blog: http://lars.ingebrigtsen.no

Re: master dfaf150631: Add a new library to format variable-pitch tables

[Eli Zaretskii]

> From: Lars Ingebrigtsen <larsi@gnus.org>
> Date: Sat, 19 Feb 2022 13:41:10 +0100
> Cc: emacs-devel@gnu.org
> 
> Po Lu <luangruo@yahoo.com> writes:
> 
> >>  doc/misc/vtable.texi                 | 521 +++++++++++++++++++++++++
> >
> > I really like the library, but does it warrant an entire manual?
> >
> > Emacs currently ships with 65 manuals, and I think we don't want any
> > more, certainly not for a core Lisp library which will hopefully be used
> > by many important features in the future.
> 
> You'd rather have it in the main lispref manual?  That was my original
> intention, but it grew kinda long, so I felt it would be better to keep
> it separate.

Yes, we should take extra care not to enlarge the ELisp manual too
much -- it already prints as 2 large volumes.

But we can include stuff in it that will not be included in the
printed copy, like we already do in the user manual: use @include
under @ifnottex condition.

I don't have a problem with either alternative, FWIW.

Re: master dfaf150631: Add a new library to format variable-pitch tables

[Lars Ingebrigtsen]

Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org> writes:

> But we can include stuff in it that will not be included in the
> printed copy, like we already do in the user manual: use @include
> under @ifnottex condition.

Yeah, that'd be a possibility...

We could also include a paragraph or two about @code{make-vtable} in the
lispref manual and then link to the vtable manual.

> I don't have a problem with either alternative, FWIW.

Me neither.

-- 
(domestic pets only, the antidote for overdose, milk.)
   bloggy blog: http://lars.ingebrigtsen.no