A new, "org-bullets"-like minor mode

A new, "org-bullets"-like minor mode

[D]

Hi,

in the past two weeks I have been working on a new org minor mode based
on org-bullets.  Much like org-bullets-mode, the new mode (dubbed
"org-superstar-mode" for the time being) visually replaces headline
stars with UTF8 bullets.  However, while I took the code of org-bullets
as an initial template, I have largely rewritten the code base for lots
of additional features, including:

* The ability to fully customize the look of plain list items as well.
* Contextual sensitivity (meaning lists and headings are recognized
semantically, so org-superstar-mode ignores false positives in for
example SRC blocks)
* level-dependent fontification for bullets
* The ability to customize the look of leading stars, while respecting
org-hide-leading-stars.

However, since the mode still contains code snippets from org-bullets, I
have tried to contact the original author (sabof) of the package in the
hopes of getting an official approval before making the thing public.
The problem with /that/ however is that the author has been inactive for
several years now, with the package being maintained by Jonas Bernoulli,
who I did not yet contact.

So, before going any further, I wanted to first ask whether there is any
community interest in such a package.

As an addendum, an excerpt from the description of the yet-to-be package:

;; This package is heavily influenced by (and uses snippets from) the
;; popular package "org-bullets", created by sabof.  It was made with
;; the goal of inheriting features the author liked about org-bullets
;; while being able to introduce compatibility-breaking changes to it.
;; It is largely rewritten, to the point of almost no function being
;; identical to it's org-bullets counterpart.

Re: A new, "org-bullets"-like minor mode

[Marco Wahl]

D <d.williams@posteo.net> writes:

> However, since the mode still contains code snippets from org-bullets, I
> have tried to contact the original author (sabof) of the package in the
> hopes of getting an official approval before making the thing public.
> The problem with /that/ however is that the author has been inactive for
> several years now, with the package being maintained by Jonas Bernoulli,
> who I did not yet contact.

AFAICS org-bullets is released under GPL3.  Doesn't this mean that you
can use org-bullets as a base for further development if you leave the
license intact and also keep the original authors next to your name?


Best regards,
--
Marco

Re: A new, "org-bullets"-like minor mode

[D]

On 01.02.20 21:32, Marco Wahl wrote:
> AFAICS org-bullets is released under GPL3.  Doesn't this mean that you
> can use org-bullets as a base for further development if you leave the
> license intact and also keep the original authors next to your name?

That is correct, I just don't mean to come off as rude making a still
rather derivative mode like that without trying to get the guy's
blessing.  I am likely overthinking the matter.

Would it be appropriate to share the link here? I think it would be
great to get feedback before trying to get it on melpa.

Cheers,

D.

Re: A new, "org-bullets"-like minor mode

[Marco Wahl]

D <d.williams@posteo.net> writes:

> On 01.02.20 21:32, Marco Wahl wrote:
>> AFAICS org-bullets is released under GPL3.  Doesn't this mean that you
>> can use org-bullets as a base for further development if you leave the
>> license intact and also keep the original authors next to your name?
>
> That is correct, I just don't mean to come off as rude making a still
> rather derivative mode like that without trying to get the guy's
> blessing.  I am likely overthinking the matter.

I see and I think that's fine that you want to contact the original
author first.

> Would it be appropriate to share the link here? I think it would be
> great to get feedback before trying to get it on melpa.

I would say yes, but it's just me.  For sure there is no guarantee for
feedback.  But there is some potential since at least some people
playing with Org hang out on this list.


Best regards,
-- 
Marco

Re: A new, "org-bullets"-like minor mode

[Diego Zamboni]

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Hi D.,

Would it be appropriate to share the link here? I think it would be
> great to get feedback before trying to get it on melpa.
>

I would love to give it a try! I use org-bullets currently, and your new
features sound quite interesting :)

--Diego

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org-superstar-mode: A re-imagining of org-bullets with new features

[D]

Hi,

thank you two for your encouragement!

Here is the link to the new project:

https://github.com/dw-github-mirror/org-superstar-mode/

Fair warning though, I am still in the process of debugging.

Cheers,

D.

Re: org-superstar-mode: A re-imagining of org-bullets with new features

[Bastien]

D <d.williams@posteo.net> writes:

> Here is the link to the new project:
> https://github.com/dw-github-mirror/org-superstar-mode/

Nice, thanks for sharing!

Don't hesitate to mention it in https://orgmode.org/worg/

See https://orgmode.org/worg/worg-git.html

Thanks,

-- 
 Bastien

Re: org-superstar-mode: A re-imagining of org-bullets with new features

[Adam Porter]

Hi D,

This looks fantastic!  Great work!  I sent you a quick suggestion on the
issue tracker.  Let's get this on MELPA ASAP!  :)

Re: A new, "org-bullets"-like minor mode

[Jonas Bernoulli]

> Much like org-bullets-mode, the new mode (dubbed
> "org-superstar-mode" for the time being) visually replaces headline
> stars with UTF8 bullets.  However, while I took the code of org-bullets
> as an initial template, I have largely rewritten the code base for lots
> of additional features

I haven't looked at the code yet but would it make sense for your new
mode just being renamed to "org-bullet" instead? Do you expect that some
current users won't want to update?

If you want to stick with creating a new mode, are there any bug fixes
that you could backport to "org-bullet"?

> However, since the mode still contains code snippets from org-bullets, I
> have tried to contact the original author (sabof) of the package in the
> hopes of getting an official approval before making the thing public.
> The problem with /that/ however is that the author has been inactive for
> several years now, with the package being maintained by Jonas Bernoulli,
> who I did not yet contact.

I don't actually use it myself and just enable it temporarily if someone
reports a bug or something.  It's not that I am not interested in
something like this package, but from the sound of it I would rather use
your package than the old "org-bullet".

If I remember correctly it, then it took some effort to contact sabof,
but eventually they gave their blessing.

  Jonas

Re: A new, "org-bullets"-like minor mode

[D]

> I haven't looked at the code yet but would it make sense for your new
> mode just being renamed to "org-bullet" instead? Do you expect that
> some current users won't want to update?

I have been considering that, but decided against replacing org-bullets
(or calling the package something akin to org-bullets+) for two reasons:
1) For the things I have/had in mind I would not have wanted to ensure
backwards-compatibility.

I would hate to see long-time users of org-bullets to experience
breakage because of design decisions I made.  I think that there is a
lot of value in keeping a straightforward package with a singular goal
for people that want exactly that.  While I made sure to ease the pain
of transitioning for people interested, I would not want to touch it
beyond maintenance.  From what I know, spacemacs ships with it for
example, so I would not like to cause anything downstream without warning.

2) While there are perfectly valid reasons to name a package similar to
another ("xpackage", "packagex", "package+", "pakG", ...) I personally
shy away from the practice to avoid confusion.  LaTeX packages are
notorious for this, and their overuse of this convention has led to many
frustrating afternoons for me in the past years.

> If you want to stick with creating a new mode, are there any bug fixes
> that you could backport to "org-bullet"?

I am sincerely considering to help maintain the project, to "adopt" it
from the orphanage, should org-superstar gain any popularity.  I will
gladly port anything technical (bugfixes, plausible performance patches)
I can to org-bullets if requested, but I would not add features.
However, I hesitate to immediately pick up the role of maintaining
org-bullets for the simple reason that I'd first like to have a project
of my own to show for myself, as a proof of responsibility if you will.

> I don't actually use it myself and just enable it temporarily if someone
> reports a bug or something.  It's not that I am not interested in
> something like this package, but from the sound of it I would rather use
> your package than the old "org-bullet".

If you find the time to check out my package, I am always open for
criticism and suggestions.  Seeing how young the package is I am very
open to adding features and making quality of life improvements to the
interfaces.

> If I remember correctly it, then it took some effort to contact sabof,
> but eventually they gave their blessing.

I sent sabof a mail via the Github address, if you have any means of
communication with him, would you mind sharing them?

Re: A new, "org-bullets"-like minor mode

[stardiviner]

D <d.williams@posteo.net> writes:

> On 01.02.20 21:32, Marco Wahl wrote:
>> AFAICS org-bullets is released under GPL3.  Doesn't this mean that you
>> can use org-bullets as a base for further development if you leave the
>> license intact and also keep the original authors next to your name?
>
> That is correct, I just don't mean to come off as rude making a still
> rather derivative mode like that without trying to get the guy's
> blessing.  I am likely overthinking the matter.
>
> Would it be appropriate to share the link here? I think it would be
> great to get feedback before trying to get it on melpa.

I would like to take a try too. Hope it is lightweight enough. Don't invoked lot of time.

>
> Cheers,
>
> D.


-- 
[ stardiviner ]
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Re: A new, "org-bullets"-like minor mode

[D]

> 
> I would like to take a try too. Hope it is lightweight enough. Don't invoked lot of time.
> 

I have not yet optimized the package, but experience no issues.  The
package is currently in the process of being reviewed for MELPA.  If you
(or anyone else) would like to contribute a large, complex org file for
benchmarking purposes I would be happy to profile my mode against it.

For the time being, you can find it  here:
https://github.com/dw-github-mirror/org-superstar-mode