bug-texinfo
[Top][All Lists]
Advanced

[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

Re: easy install and man-like behavior


From: Stefan Monnier
Subject: Re: easy install and man-like behavior
Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2000 14:17:12 -0500

> > From: "Stefan Monnier" <address@hidden>
> > Date: Tue, 12 Dec 2000 11:39:58 -0500
> > 
> > - `cp foo.info /usr/local/info; info foo' should work.
> >   This means that `info foo' should find `foo' even if it's not in any
> >   `dir' file
> 
> This is on my todo, but it is far from easy; various non-obvious
> design decisions need to be made.  For example, what do you do if the
> user types "info foo,bar,baz"?  Another example: with "info foo", do
> you first try to look `foo' as a menu entry and then as a file, or the
> other way around?

I think the current behavior should be kept mostly.
I.e. look it up just as it is now, but if you can't find it, just before
returning an error, double check whether there isn't a file by that name.
I.e. it only changes the current behavior in cases where the current
behavior is to return an error.

> > - `info libc scanf' should find the scanf entry in the index rather
> >   than complain that there is no menu entry for `scanf' in the toplevel
> >   of the `libc' manpage.
> 
> Why only in the index?

You misunderstood.  I said "find", not "look up".

>  What about manuals which don't have indices?

Just as in the `info foo' case, looking up the index should only be done
if nothing else was found.  I.e. only change the behavior in the case where
it would currently return an error.

> What about manuals which have two or more nodes all beginning with
> "scanf"?

I don't know what texinfo currently does, but it should probably keep
doing the same thing in that case.

> These all questions that need to be discussed and decided before
> coding this.  (Coding any decision is actually not hard, I think.)
> 
> Info is much more versatile, powerful, and feature-rich than man
> pages.  So it is not easy to copy behavior from one to the other.
> Which doesn't mean we shouldn't try, just that one shouldn't assume
> it's easy and doesn't get done because Texinfo maintainers are lazy.

Far from me to think TeXinfo authors are lazy.  I just got one more complaint
from a friend (should probably be "acquaintance" instead, since he still
refuses to see the light) about that and figured I might send an "official"
feature request rather than keep mumbling in my corner.

> > - A well-installed system should automatically update the dir files
> >   from a cron job, so that `cp foo.info /usr/local/info' is *really* all it
> >   takes to install an info document.
> >   This can be done right now, but I think that the distribution of texinfo
> >   should come with a sample such cron-script and should advertise it
> >   so that it seems natural to do it for someone who never even thought
> >   about it (as opposed to just making it possible/easy for someone who's
> >   been waiting for it).
> 
> Can you write such a script?  I'm sure it will be gratefully accepted.

I haven't even had time to write a quick&dirty one for my own systems
(especially since I like to edit my `dir' files by hand anyway).
But if I ever end up writing one, I'll submit it of course.

> > - along the same lines, the cron job could even build the info files
> >   from texinfo files (like catman does for nroff->ascii), so that
> >   `cp foo.texi /usr/local/doc' is all it takes to install a documentation
> 
> What do you do with errors reported by makeinfo during a cron job?

Good point.  I guess they end up sent to the administrator, like all
other cron job output ;-(


        Stefan




reply via email to

[Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread]