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Re: [O] Formal description of Org files
From: |
Bastien |
Subject: |
Re: [O] Formal description of Org files |
Date: |
Tue, 19 Jul 2011 01:35:23 +0200 |
User-agent: |
Gnus/5.13 (Gnus v5.13) Emacs/24.0.50 (gnu/linux) |
Hi Nicolas,
Nicolas Goaziou <address@hidden> writes:
> I didn't follow closely the thread, but I think having a formal
> description of Org files is unrealistic at the moment.
Still it would be useful to *try* to describe Org's various elements as
formally as possible.
> Org "format" is heavily dependant on user-configurable variables deeply
> installed within emacs. Some of these variables can drastically change
> the grammar of the Org file. Example:
>
> #+begin_src org
> - item 1
>
> - item a
> #+end_src
>
> Now, if org-empty-line-terminates-plain-lists is a non-nil value, any
> parser should detect two lists of one item each, while keeping it to nil
> will imply there is one list of two items.
>
> Another example: (setq org-deadline-string "ZORGLUB:"). I let you
> imagine what confusion it might introduce if the external tool you want
> to use/implement isn't aware of this change.
>
> Sure, it's all plain text, so Org files are accessible from outside
> emacs. But, for now, only the plain-text structure is accessible from
> the wild, not the Org one.
>
> I can see three options here:
>
> - We remove every configurability concerning Org structure: we enforce
> DEADLINE to stay DEADLINE, lists items to be separated by a blank
> line, etc. But this isn't serious, is it?
Nope :)
> - We consider that Org "format" is a package containing the body _and_
> every configuration variable. But it isn't plain-text nor a format
> anymore.
Not really useful -- the purpose of better defining the format is to
make it parsable outside Emacs.
> - We implement an intermediary real format (maybe in plain text, but
> I'd favor a nested-lists construct) that would serve as the common
> denominator for every exporter _and_ importer out there. I already
> suggested something like this in a recent thread about
> exporters. Obviously, I think this one is the only viable (and,
> icing on the cake, this would also be very useful for Org
> development).
I see yet another option:
Describe a plain text format with the _default_ config options.
Meaning DEADLINE will be DEADLINE -- and nothing else.
--
Bastien
- Re: [O] Formal description of Org files, (continued)
Re: [O] Formal description of Org files, Eric Schulte, 2011/07/17
Re: [O] Formal description of Org files, Marcelo de Moraes Serpa, 2011/07/18
Re: [O] Formal description of Org files, Nicolas Goaziou, 2011/07/18