Re: [PATCH] Rename headline to heading

[Tim Cross]

Maxim Nikulin <manikulin@gmail.com> writes:

> On 05/08/2021 19:12, André A. Gomes wrote:
>> @@ -963,7 +963,7 @@ Store them in the capture property list."
>>          (org-capture-put-target-region-and-position)
>>          (goto-char position))
>>         (_ (error "Cannot find target ID \"%s\"" id))))
>> -    (`(file+headline ,path ,headline)
>> +    (`(file+heading ,path ,heading)
>
> I am sorry if is a false alarm. Does it mean that all users having
> "file+headline" in their init.el files will have to immediately update
> configuration? Shouldn't both variants be supported during transitional 
> period?
>
> P.S. https://orgmode.org/worg/dev/org-syntax.html consistently uses 
> "headline".

I'm not convinced a transition period will help in this case. At some
point, users will need to update their capture templates regardless.
Provided this impact is clearly outlined in the NEWS.org file (I think
there should be a specific reference to capture templates added in the
patch to NEWS.org) and provided this change is applied to the next
release only, no transition period is necessary.

In this case, a transition period would add complexity to the code that
would have to remain in place until the next major release and at that
release, anyone who has not updated their templates will have the same
breakage anyway. I feel there is a difference between changes in
configuration and changes in code. Updating capture templates is
trivial. Updating code is often more complex, which is why we have the
obsolete mechanism for functions and variables. 

If we were making this change in a maintenance release, that would be a
completely different story and a transition period would definitely be
necessary. Users should expect some breakage in configuration when
upgrading to a new major version.