Re: TRAMP User Manual problems with Texinfo 5.0

[Eli Zaretskii]

> Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2013 21:19:00 +0100
> From: Patrice Dumas <address@hidden>
> 
> On Thu, Feb 21, 2013 at 09:41:51PM +0200, Eli Zaretskii wrote:
> > > Date: Thu, 21 Feb 2013 20:18:56 +0100
> > > From: Patrice Dumas <address@hidden>
> > > 
> > > The first ambiguous construct is in fact
> > > 
> > >   @set address@hidden
> > > 
> > > I am not sure how this should be interpreted?  It may be considered
> > > 1. wrong
> > > 2. the same as
> > > 
> > >   @set x
> > > 
> > > 3. the same as
> > > 
> > >   @set x @c
> > 
> > Neither.  It's #2, but the following newline should be removed from
> > output when the macro is expanded.  Using @c for this purpose was a
> > popular trick with the old makeinfo.
> 
> It is not a macro, it is a @value.

No, it is a macro that sets a variable that can be later recalled with
@value:

  @macro xxx address@hidden
  @set address@hidden
  @end macro

  @macro yyy {one, address@hidden
  @address@hidden
  @ifclear address@hidden
  address@hidden@c
  @end ifclear
  @clear address@hidden
  @end macro

  @macro trampfn {method, user, host, address@hidden
  @address@hidden,@address@hidden,@@address@hidden@c
  @end macro

The important one is the last one: it needs to produce results like
this:

  @address@hidden, daniel%BIZARRE, melancholia, /daniel$$/.emacs}}

   => `/smb:address@hidden:/daniel$$/.emacs'

Without the @c parts, the result would be broken, like this:

  `/smb:
   daniel%BIZARRE@
   melancholia:/daniel$$/.emacs'

> And I am not sure it is correct, as
> in 
>   '@set' and '@value'
> it is said, about @set:
> 
>     The value is the remainder of the input line, and can contain
>   anything.

"Remainder of the line" arguably doesn't include the newline.  But it
is pointless to argue about this, since using @c is how idiosyncrasies
of makeinfo macros and other constructs were worked around for ages.

> Taken literraly, it means that a @c on the line is to be part of the
> value.

But since pre-v5 makeinfo repeatedly expanded text until there was
nothing left to expand, the @c and everything after it, including the
newline, would then disappear without a trace.

> I can change the Parser code to remove wha tlooks like a comment
> from the value (trailing spaces are already removed), but then,
> maybe the manual should be modified?

Describing this in the manual is a good idea, IMO, and certainly
cannot hurt.