Difficulties in using getdate.texi from Texinfo documents which use full @node commands

[James Youngman]

Hello all,

GNU findutils currently uses the full @node command for speficying the
navigational structure of the Findutils manual.   So it contains @node
commands like this:-


@menu
* Introduction::                Summary of the tasks this manual describes.
* Finding Files::               Finding files that match certain criteria.
* Actions::                     Doing things to files you have found.
* Databases::                   Maintaining file name databases.
* File Permissions::            How to control access to files.
* Date input formats::          Specifying literal times.
* Reference::                   Summary of how to invoke the programs.
* Common Tasks::                Solutions to common real-world problems.
* Worked Examples::             Examples demonstrating more complex points.
* Security Considerations::     Security issues relating to findutils.
* Error Messages::              Explanations of some messages you might see.
* Primary Index::               The components of @code{find} expressions.
@end menu
[...]
@node Introduction, Finding Files, Top, Top
@chapter Introduction
[...]
@node Finding Files, Actions, Introduction, Top
@chapter Finding Files
[...]
@node File Permissions, Date input formats, Databases, Top
@chapter File Permissions

@include perm.texi

@include getdate.texi

@node Reference, Common Tasks, Date input formats, Top
@chapter Reference

Below are summaries of the command line syntax for the programs
discussed in this manual.
[...]


The top of perm.texi looks like this:

Each file has a set of @dfn{file mode bits} that control the kinds of
access that users have to that file.  They can be represented either in
symbolic form or as an octal number.

@menu
* Mode Structure::              Structure of file mode bits.
* Symbolic Modes::              Mnemonic representation of file mode bits.
* Numeric Modes::               File mode bits as octal numbers.
* Directory Setuid and Setgid:: Set-user-ID and set-group-ID on directories.
@end menu

@node Mode Structure
@section Structure of File Mode Bits

So here, the controlling @node command has a matching @chapter and
both are outside the included file.   That works fine (findutils has
been distributed this way for a while).

Unfortunately, I have discovered that the same approach does not work
for the file getdate.texi.  The top of that file looks like this:-


@node Date input formats
@chapter Date input formats

@cindex date input formats
@findex get_date

First, a quote:
[...]


Unfortunately, the node "Date input formats" has no "up" pointer to
node "Top" and so makeinfo fails:-

../../findutils/doc/find.texi:2733: Prev field of node `Reference' not
pointed to.
../../findutils/doc//getdate.texi:13: This node (Date input formats)
has the bad Next.
../../findutils/doc//getdate.texi:13: `Date input formats' has no Up
field (perhaps incorrect sectioning?).
../../findutils/doc/find.texi:2726: Next field of node `File
Permissions' not pointed to (perhaps incorrect sectioning?).
../../findutils/doc//getdate.texi:13: This node (Date input formats)
has the bad Prev.
makeinfo: Removing output file `../../findutils/doc/find.info' due to
errors; use --force to preserve.

My guess is that I could work around this problem by removing the
prev/next/up pointers from all other chapters and top-level nodes in
the findutils manual.   That seems a bit extreme though.   Is there a
more elegant way to solve this problem?

James.