Re: @verb issues

[Werner LEMBERG]

> We should assume that spaces inside @verb are important and should
> be apparent to the reader.  This may not be the case if we allow
> line breaking before or after spaces.

I agree, a situation like

```
foo<space><space>
<space>bar
```

is ambiguous.  However, AFAICS, the main usage of `@verb` is having an
easy way to input special characters like `\` or `$`.  It seems to me
that the handling of spaces is secondary.

> One question I have is whether spaces should disappear if they are
> used for a line break.  If we break before a space should we start
> the next line with a space, or if we break before a space should we
> end the current line with a space?  A break may also occur in
> between two spaces.

IMHO, the normal TeX behaviour with respect to whitespace (as found in
`@code`) is fully sufficient.

> A line break in between the spaces in @verb{+X Y+} may be a bad
> thing if the document author deliberately wanted to illustrate two
> spaces in a row.

For such details we would actually need an equivalent to LaTeX's
`\verb*` command, which prints half boxes instead of spaces – *there*
it would make sense to have a line break that is not equivalent to a
space.

If it is really of paramount importance to rely on the exact numbers
of spaces, people should use `@verbatim`.


    Werner