Re: MH-E manual update

[Luc Teirlinck]

Bill Wohler wrote:

   If the customize rendering of a variable has user-friendly variants of
   the variable's values, then those user-friendly variants should perhaps
   be rendered in @code for good looks and consistency as well. For
   example:

       (defcustom mh-alias-insertion-location 'sorted
         "Specifies where new aliases are entered in alias files.

       This option is set to \"Alphabetical\" by default. If you organize
       your alias file in other ways, then adding aliases to the \"Top\"
       or \"Bottom\" of your alias file might be more appropriate."
         :type '(choice (const :tag "Alphabetical" sorted)
                        (const :tag "Top" top)
                        (const :tag "Bottom" bottom))
         :group 'mh-alias)

   We'd use @code{'sorted} and @code{Alphabetical}.

If you are going to include the entire defcustom, you would obviously
use @example.  But if you then refer to Alphabetical outside of the
@example, things get subtle.  I believe that if you refer to the
string "Alphabetical", which the programmer has to write in his
defcustom, you use @code.  However, if you refer to the text that
actually appears in the Custom buffer, you use @samp.

That is why you have @samp in the following quote from
lispref/customize.texi:

  @example
  (choice (integer :tag "Number of spaces")
          (string :tag "Literal text"))
  @end example

  @noindent
  so that the menu offers @samp{Number of spaces} and @samp{Literal text}.

It talks about the text in the menu, as opposed to the strings in the code.

Sincerely,

Luc.