[AUCTeX] Re: Toolbar-x development

[Reiner Steib]

Could we please discuss this on the development list (auctex-devel)
instead of the user list (auctex)?

On Fri, Jul 28 2006, Miguel V. S. Frasson wrote:

> Dear all
>
> For a long while I have not talked too much here about what is going
> on with the toolbar tools.
>
> In my free time, I have been developing toolbar-x to improve
> performance.  After some ponderation, I realized that there were some
> wrong decisions in the implementation.  The code, although it works
> (far from optimally), is not easily understandable (difficulting
> maintainability).  The engines (parse + display in Emacs + display in
> XEmacs) were not clearly separated.
>
> In order to incorporate the improvements that I will describe bellow,
> I had to reprogram the core part.  I didn't finish the implementation
> (almost, but not quite), so I will not publish it imediately, but it
> think I can do it soon. Apart from dropdown groups, everything is
> working in Emacs. XEmacs will follow soon. Still some documentation to
> be typed and a lot of testing.
>
> About what is new:
>
> * Performance was my main concern, specially if there were many many
> buttons.  The symbols toolbar eventually could have hundreds of
> symbols (seldomly used most of them).  Before, all the tree of buttons
> was parsed, even if buttons never happened to be inserted. Now parsing
> is gradual and only on demand.  Only what is to be displayed is
> parsed. Before, a refresh forced buttons to be recomputed, even if
> this computation yield to objects that are `equal' (lisp function).
> Now, everything that can be computed only once is computed just once
> and stored for faster redisplay.
>
> * The algorithm is clearer.  I think that most guys here could
> understand it reading the comments and code.  Before some people
> complained that the code was too confusing, and it really was. The
> engines are completely separated due to improved clearness. Before we
> have the situation `function x calls function y and function y calls
> function x', mixing everything. This does not happen anymore.
>
> * There is a single and important sintax change: the argument
> `meaning-alist' becomes `meaning-alists' which is a list of alists or
> variable bound to alists. This avoids the necessity of concatenation
> of alists (takes "long" and can introduce inconsistence, since both
> can have properties for the same symbol) like done before. I think
> that this change is for the best.
>
> * David asked me for the omega icon with a sumo fighter head, (I
> understood that it should be the TeX lion's head).  It is almost
> looking good. Eventually I will deliver it.

Bye, Reiner.
-- 
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