Re: Patch updating Info format specification

[Patrice Dumas]

On Thu, Jul 24, 2014 at 06:07:59PM +0000, Karl Berry wrote:
> 
>     It's worth mentioning this because otherwise it would mean that we
>     were looking for a node that was actually called "(dir)" within the
>     same file.
> 
> Sure, no question.

I was under the impression that (dir) was not special, and that, on node
lines, something like

  (nmanual) nname

refered to an external manual with name nmanual and node nname, as it is
the case in xrefs and in menu entries.

>     * Does anyone know how this would affect menus in texinfo source,
>     which are info menus in a @menu block? (Same question for @direntry)?
> 
> By "this" I presume you mean the node quoting?  makeinfo would have to
> generate the quoted form when needed, of course.  (Plus see below.)
> Patrice, are you there?

Indeed, menu entry have the same quoting requirements as xrefs.

>     I have seen them in several files. They seem to work at the moment
>     but there could be some confusion with a node actually called
>     "(file)node" in the same file.
> 
> Indeed, a same-manual node named "(file)node" would have to be
> DEL-quoted at the Info level to get the right interpretation by the Info
> readers.  The same is true for a node named "Foo:" or "Foo," or any of
> the other myriad ambiguous cases that arise once any character is
> allowed in node names.

Agreed.

> Whether we need something at the user level to disambiguate ... I don't
> know.  Maybe we have to, but I'd rather not, for simplicity.  What comes
> to mind is that if a local node exists, it gets used.  If a user wants
> to have a local node named "(file)node" *and* refer to "node" in the
> external "file", well, they can't.  Rename the local node.  This does
> not seem like an onerous burden to me.

In the following, all the nodes are considered locall by texi2any:

@node Top

@menu
* @asis{(truc) machin}::
@end menu

@node @asis{(truc) machin}

@address@hidden(truc) machin}}.





I have another remark, in the "Info Format: Cross Reference" node, the
<label> is used for two very different things.  I would prefer something
along (with a node described in both cases in the right place):

@example
    <cross-reference> =
  * (N|n)ote (<lparen><infofile><rparen>)?<del>?<node name><del>?::
| * (N|n)ote <label>:(<lparen><infofile><rparen>)?<xrefid>

    <label> = <del>?<label text><del>?
    <xrefid> = <node name>(.|,)) | <del><node name><del>
@end example


In case a the (<lparen><infofile><rparen>) part is not allowed in the
case wih ::, which I believe is not true, it would be

@example
    <cross-reference> =
  * (N|n)ote <del>?<node name><del>?::
| * (N|n)ote <label>:(<lparen><infofile><rparen>)?<xrefid>

    <label> = <del>?<label text><del>?
    <xrefid> = <node name>(.|,)) | <del><node name><del>
@end example


Otherwise I think that it is very confusing as it seems that the label
is  similar in both case, whic is not the case at all.

-- 
Pat