Re: [org-babel] [PATCH] Improve ditta.jar finding heuristics

[Andrey Smirnov <andrew.smirnov@gmail.com>]

Eric Schulte <schulte.eric@gmail.com> writes:

> Hi Andrey,
>
> The variable `org-ditaa-jar-path' can be used to specify a non-standard
> location for the ditaa jar file.

True, but my patch is not about doing away with `org-ditaa-jar-path'
variable, it is about broadening the definition of "standard location"
so to speak.

Right now, being defined relatively to ob-ditaa.el, aforementioned
standard location is at the mercy of what/whoever that is responsible
for deciding where all the stuff belonging to emacs and org-mode goes.

IMHO, that floating filesystem location is hardly more standard than the
place where Distro X's package management tools place ditta.jar
after installation.
         
> Org-mode has *many* customization
> variables, and for most problems a variable will exist to solve the
> problem, 

I understand where you're coming from. True, it is not possible to
handle all obscure and arcane cases, that's what all these variables are
for, but I don't think that a situation where user installs ditaa and
later emacs, both via the package management system and find themselves
unable to draw awesome ditaa diagrams without looking a variable up in
documentation, adding appropriate code to his configuration file and
hitting C-x C-e is some sort of a fringe use-case. If only
myself and maybe another person has ever hit that roadblock, than I
agree, it is not worth adding any additional code, and I rest my case.

> the `apropos' command can be very useful for finding these
> variables.
>

Thanks for the tip, didn't know about that particular command.
I usually use combination of C-h v and good old
M-x download-the-source-and-look-how-the-thing-works :-).

Andrey Smirnov