Re: makeinfo function execute feature

[Karl Berry]

    The gnu emacs info mode supports a lisp function execute feature
    upon displaying an info node.

Wow, I never knew that.  

Although we could document it and add a Texinfo command to generate it,
I'm worried about security.  It should at least be disabled by default,
I would think.

rms, bob, anyone else, what do you think?  (Including Joseph's original
message for your benefit.)

Thanks,
karl


Date: Mon, 19 Jan 2004 08:33:02 -0500
From: <address@hidden>
To: address@hidden
Cc: address@hidden
Subject: makeinfo function execute feature

The gnu emacs info mode supports a lisp function execute feature upon
displaying an info node.  This feature requires placing the "execute:"
keyword after the end of a node and before the beginning of the next
node.  For instance, if the lisp function to be executed is the function
"run-test", then the node that causes it to be executed can end with the line

^_execute: (run-test)^L

The makeinfo tool does not have any command built in for putting this
construct into the output stream.  I have carefully reviewed the version
4.6 texinfo code to see that the makeinfo/node.c file that puts out all
of the occurances of the ^_ char into the output stream has no context
in which it can be followed by the above "execute: (run-test)" construct.

Whenever I use the node execute, I am prevented by makeinfo from keeping
a single source file for interactive and printed versions of the info file.

It would be nice if makeinfo were modified to add a command for
inserting a function execute attribute after the end of a node.


PS: This feature is not documented in the info manual, but the emacs
info mode source code definitely includes looking for and running any
execute attributes after the end of a node.  I have used this feature
for a long time.