Re: Manual does not list :results output graphics as babel header arg

[tsd@tsdye.com (Thomas S. Dye)]

John Hendy <jw.hendy@gmail.com> writes:

> On Mon, Jul 9, 2012 at 7:35 PM, Thomas S. Dye <tsd@tsdye.com> wrote:
>> John Hendy <jw.hendy@gmail.com> writes:
>>
>>> I have typically outputted graphics from R via tikzDevice manually,
>>> but gave my first whirl to just including things via the :file
>>> argument in my block header. In the process, I was trying to get this
>>> to work and found I needed to use:
>>>
>>> -----
>>> :results output graphics
>>> -----
>>>
>>> This is listed on Worg ob-R-doc:
>>> - http://orgmode.org/worg/org-contrib/babel/languages/ob-doc-R.html#sec-4-3
>>>
>>> But I didn't originally know about it, as it's not a listed header
>>> argument in the manual, which is where I check since they're all
>>> listed in one place:
>>> - http://orgmode.org/manual/results.html#results
>>>
>>> Does the manual only list universal babel header arguments and R is in
>>> a subset of ones using =:results output graphics= or should it be
>>> there?
>>>
>>
>> Hi John,
>>
>> The babel header arguments are implemented at two levels.
>>
>> There are general babel arguments that apply to all the supported
>> languages.  These are described in the manual.
>>
>> It is also possible for the individual language implementations to
>> define their own header arguments.  R is a good example, where the very
>> many arguments to the various R output devices are built into ob-R.el.
>> These language specific header arguments are not described in the
>> manual, but instead appear in the language specific documentation on
>> Worg.
>>
>> Re: your specific question about :results output graphics.  I believe
>> this is an R specific header argument and that it is described in the
>> appropriate place in the documentation on Worg (see lines 68 and 230
>> of ob-R.el).
>>
>> The manual is not a one-stop source for answers to all Babel questions.
>> Recourse to the language specific documentation is typically necessary,
>> which is why it would be great if someone could find time to work up
>> documentation for the 20 or so languages that still lack it :)
>
> Thanks for the clarification and that answers the question. This was a
> specific header argument for R. Perhaps the manual could link to this
> page?
> - http://orgmode.org/worg/org-contrib/babel/languages.html
>
> Maybe with a diddy: "Some languages feature their own unique header
> arguments. The above document only universal, system wide Babel header
> arguments and one should consult the specific language page on Worg
> for additional features."
>
> Just a thought.

Hi John,

Thanks for this thought, which is indeed reasonable.  I thought the
manual might lack this structure, but when I went back to the
manual I found that
http://orgmode.org/manual/Specific-header-arguments.html#Specific-header-arguments
has this at the bottom of the page: "Additional header arguments are
defined on a language-specific basis, see Languages", where "Languages"
is a link to another manual page, one with a table of supported
languages and a link to the Worg page you cite.

The language is a bit different than your proposal, but the path seems
clear enough to me.

Of course, there is still the issue of the languages that lack
language-specific documentation :)

All the best,
Tom

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