From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: main.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: David Kastrup Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.devel Subject: Re: Documentation for "Clone Buffers" (corrected version) Date: 14 Mar 2004 10:48:41 +0100 Sender: emacs-devel-bounces+emacs-devel=quimby.gnus.org@gnu.org Message-ID: References: NNTP-Posting-Host: deer.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1079258080 10865 80.91.224.253 (14 Mar 2004 09:54:40 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Sun, 14 Mar 2004 09:54:40 +0000 (UTC) Cc: Alan Mackenzie , emacs-devel@gnu.org Original-X-From: emacs-devel-bounces+emacs-devel=quimby.gnus.org@gnu.org Sun Mar 14 10:54:34 2004 Return-path: Original-Received: from quimby.gnus.org ([80.91.224.244]) by deer.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 1B2SKI-00029z-00 for ; Sun, 14 Mar 2004 10:54:34 +0100 Original-Received: from monty-python.gnu.org ([199.232.76.173]) by quimby.gnus.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 1B2SKH-0005Cf-00 for ; Sun, 14 Mar 2004 10:54:34 +0100 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.30) id 1B2SG9-0006yr-9D for emacs-devel@quimby.gnus.org; Sun, 14 Mar 2004 04:50:17 -0500 Original-Received: from list by monty-python.gnu.org with tmda-scanned (Exim 4.30) id 1B2SFQ-0006yW-0i for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sun, 14 Mar 2004 04:49:32 -0500 Original-Received: from mail by monty-python.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.30) id 1B2SEt-0006ri-Kr for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sun, 14 Mar 2004 04:49:30 -0500 Original-Received: from [199.232.76.164] (helo=fencepost.gnu.org) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.30) id 1B2SEt-0006rf-EP for emacs-devel@gnu.org; Sun, 14 Mar 2004 04:48:59 -0500 Original-Received: from fencepost.gnu.org ([127.0.0.1] helo=lola.goethe.zz) by fencepost.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.24) id 1B2SBd-0000of-W2; Sun, 14 Mar 2004 04:45:38 -0500 Original-To: Eli Zaretskii In-Reply-To: Original-Lines: 36 User-Agent: Gnus/5.09 (Gnus v5.9.0) Emacs/21.3.50 X-BeenThere: emacs-devel@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.4 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:20452 X-Report-Spam: http://spam.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.devel:20452 Eli Zaretskii writes: > > Date: Thu, 11 Mar 2004 14:55:54 +0000 (GMT) > > From: Alan Mackenzie > > > > 1/- It should be complete and accurate. > > 2/- The printed and online versions should be the same. > > 3/- The printed version should not be too big. > > > > We can decide upon any two of these, but we can't have all three > > at the same time. :-( > > Yes we can: we could make a separate manual that isn't printed as part > of the Emacs manual. Then users can print it on their own. > > We already do that for several major Emacs features. In the TeXbook by Knuth, we have "dangerous bend" sections marked by the corresponding traffic sign, and "double dangerous bend" marked by two such signs. Those sections are printed in smaller print and indicate increasingly complicated material that the normal user will not usually need to bother himself with. If one would mark up sections in the Emacs manual (or other info manuals) like that, one could generate a normal user manual and a more expensive (complete) expert manual where the user manual omits the more complicated stuff. The online version would be complete, but maybe fold the more intricated stuff unless indicated otherwise by variable settings or unless a search or index search hits there. With regard to index searches, one would probably exhaust the "simple" sections first before going into the "complicated" ones. Whether this is a good idea is a different question. -- David Kastrup, Kriemhildstr. 15, 44793 Bochum