Re: How do I suppress "helpful" blank lines generated by makeinfo?

[Alan Mackenzie]

On Wed, Apr 15, 2009 at 06:55:13PM +0300, Eli Zaretskii wrote:
> > Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:51:37 +0000
> > From: Alan Mackenzie <address@hidden>

> > Is there any way I can get what I want with the @list/@table type
> > commands?
 
> Why is it so important for you to not have a blank line between the
> @item's?

Partly because I want to do what I want to do, and I hate being forced
to do what somebody else thinks is the right thing to want to do.  :-)
But in this particular case, this:

    Those codes which have a lisp function or variable as a direct equivalent:
        `*' (check not read-only): `barf-if-buffer-readonly'
        `d' (point): `point'
        `i' (nil): `nil'
        `m' (mark):`mark'
        `n' (number): `read-number'
        `P' (raw prefix): `current-prefix-arg' (variable)
        `r' (region): `region-beginning' and `region-end'
        `v' (user option): `read-variable'
        `x' (lisp expression): `read-minibuffer'
        `X' (evaluate lisp expression): `eval-minibuffer'
        `z' (coding system): `read-coding-system'

is more readable, more beautiful, take less space than this:

    Those codes which have a lisp function or variable as a direct equivalent:

        `*' (check not read-only): `barf-if-buffer-readonly'

        `d' (point): `point'

        `i' (nil): `nil'

        `m' (mark):`mark'

        `n' (number): `read-number'

        `P' (raw prefix): `current-prefix-arg' (variable)

        `r' (region): `region-beginning' and `region-end'

        `v' (user option): `read-variable'

        `x' (lisp expression): `read-minibuffer'

        `X' (evaluate lisp expression): `eval-minibuffer'

        `z' (coding system): `read-coding-system'

.

> makeinfo behaves as it should here, because the result will look ugly
> and less readable without that empty line.

What is intended to be paragraphs separated by blank lines degenerates
into meaningless double spacing when the @item lines are short
one-liners.  The Texinfo manual agrees with this, almost (but not quite)
stating that omitting a blank line before @item carries over to the Info
file.  Page "itemize":

    Usually, you should put a blank line before an address@hidden'.  This puts a
    blank line in the Info file. (TeX inserts the proper interline
    whitespace in either case.)  Except when the entries are very brief,
    these blank lines make the list look better.

> > Do I need a later (>4.7) version of Texinfo?
> 
> No, they all produce the same output.

OK.

-- 
Alan Mackenzie (Nuremberg, Germany).