Re: Ideas about default HTML output?

[Patrice Dumas]

On Thu, May 28, 2009 at 07:30:08PM -0500, Karl Berry wrote:
> 
> So I think this is the case where we make the default one way or the
> other, and then say how to change the default (you probably already do),
> If we have to, we could have "makeinfo style" and "texi2html style" to
> bundle various choices, although I'm not sure authors care that much.

There isn't really a "texi2html style" and a "makeinfo style", all the 
differences are customizable through variables. There are currently
about 12 variables corresponding with the differences between texi2html and 
makeinfo, some are for style customization, other for more important 
stuff (like honor @setfilename or not).

> Next: Invoking hello, Previous: Overview, Up: Top  [Contents]

I did that + I added the indice. 
The name of the current node isn't output, is it on purpose?

> It puzzles me to have the contents be at the end.  Granted having it be

They are at end only if they are not output inline. When not called as 
texi2html they are output inline.

> the first thing in the output (as makeinfo does) is not great either,
> the toc as an object simply does not conventionally go at the end.

Maybe there should be a comand like @insertitlepage, that could be 
in @ifhtml for the texinfo manual? It seems to me that makeinfo C inserts
what is in @settitle, but I am not sure that it is the best.

> Today I like texi2html's output better in the examples you made.

I have reverted to the bullets, but it can easily be changed once more.

>     There are, in fact more differences. The menu-headers are in
>     th/thead in texi2html, (so, bold) and formatted in preformatted
>     environment.
> 
> What are "menu-headers"?  I'm not seeing this, sorry.

It is text between menu entries. In the texinfo manual, you have, 
for example:

 — The Detailed Node Listing —

Overview of Texinfo


> It looks like you also change the xref targets to use section names?

Indeed, it is one possibility. But there is a variable (and even
a command line option) that changes the behaviour, I set it in the 
default case.

> That's consistent, but I don't see a strong reason to deviate from the
> default.  We use the node names in texinfo.tex and all other output.

In texinfo.tex both are used, unless I am wrong (and I think that it is
quite ugly).

> One thing I notice in the texi2html output is that it just has "A", "B",
> etc., for the appendix nodes,
> 
> And, I don't think there should be periods after the appendix numbers,
> since there aren't after chapter numbers.

Agreed to both issues, and fixed.


I have regenerated the output in the default case, it is still at 

http://www.environnement.ens.fr/perso/dumas/comp_html/texi2html/

It now looks very similar with what produces makeinfo C, in my opinion.
Still not exactly the same, for instance one visible difference is that
there is a title output only in makeinfo C -- and there are certainly 
many others.

--
Pat