From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: news.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: "Robert J. Chassell" Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel Subject: Re: [drew.adams@oracle.com: RE: cannot find :enable in Elisp manualindex] Date: Sat, 2 Jun 2007 23:47:59 +0000 (UTC) Message-ID: References: Reply-To: bob@rattlesnake.com NNTP-Posting-Host: lo.gmane.org X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1180828127 27318 80.91.229.12 (2 Jun 2007 23:48:47 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Sat, 2 Jun 2007 23:48:47 +0000 (UTC) Cc: karl@gnu.org, emacs-devel@gnu.org To: rms@gnu.org Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Sun Jun 03 01:48:43 2007 Return-path: Envelope-to: ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([199.232.76.165]) by lo.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 4.50) id 1HudKr-0003NT-S1 for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Sun, 03 Jun 2007 01:48:42 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1HudKr-0005tV-Da for ged-emacs-devel@m.gmane.org; Sat, 02 Jun 2007 19:48:41 -0400 Original-Received: from mailman by lists.gnu.org with tmda-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1HudKd-0005oC-Nx for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sat, 02 Jun 2007 19:48:27 -0400 Original-Received: from exim by lists.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1HudKc-0005mo-TG for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sat, 02 Jun 2007 19:48:27 -0400 Original-Received: from [199.232.76.173] (helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1HudKc-0005mV-KM for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sat, 02 Jun 2007 19:48:26 -0400 Original-Received: from cpe-69-205-32-54.nycap.res.rr.com ([69.205.32.54] helo=rattlesnake.com) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.60) (envelope-from ) id 1HudKa-0005IZ-99; Sat, 02 Jun 2007 19:48:24 -0400 Original-Received: by rattlesnake.com via sendmail from stdin id (Debian Smail3.2.0.115) Sat, 2 Jun 2007 23:47:59 +0000 (UTC) In-reply-to: (message from Richard Stallman on Sat, 02 Jun 2007 13:29:42 -0400) X-detected-kernel: Linux 2.4 (tstamp-) X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.5 Precedence: list List-Id: "Emacs development discussions." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Original-Sender: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Errors-To: emacs-devel-bounces+ged-emacs-devel=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: news.gmane.org gmane.emacs.devel:72087 Archived-At: The `doc' format handles many of the layout, font, and printing needs that people have. Moreover, it is now used by many even though it carries legal restrictions. What precisely are these legal restrictions? Last I heard, Microsoft did not permit you to give or sell binaries or source code of its proprietary software to others without their permission; nor could you modify or study it. I have not read the license to which you must agree when you rent their code. Converting it to the low resolution output that Info offers would be more difficult and perhaps impossible. Could you mention one issue that makes this difficult? I don't think any is difficult but no one has made the conversion for Open Office. Maybe there is not enough interest or maybe the conversion really is difficult; I don't know. The Open Office format has automatic numbering of paragraphs, sections, etc., and can be converted to HTML (and it has many other features, but those I remember). I don't use Open Office; I use Texinfo and produce both high and low resolution outputs. Regularly, I produce DVI, PDF, HTML, and Info. (Interest has decreased for PostScript, so I don't produce that every day. I don't produce LaTeX, RTF, DocBook, XML with a Texinfo DTD, or plain text everyday, either.) Many people like to see their output as they write -- for anything sighted people look at, that means three outputs currently: * high resolution frozen, printed books, which can be taken from the DVI output, * high resolution with active links, which can be taken from the HTML output, and * low resolution with active links, which can be taken from Info. So with the Texinfo source, that means four views of the same content. (Several years ago, I made a crude beginning of this, but no one else cared; and I usually don't need to see the current outputs, so I lost interest.) As far as I can see, a converter would make it easier for some organizations to change without as high a cost as they now face. -- Robert J. Chassell GnuPG Key ID: 004B4AC8 bob@rattlesnake.com bob@gnu.org http://www.rattlesnake.com http://www.teak.cc