Re: Are 'placement' and 'float' "obsolete terms" in inline images export

[Juan Manuel Macías]

Ihor, sorry for the late reply.

Ihor Radchenko writes:

> So, the difference between :environment and :float is that :float also
> encapsulates \caption in addition to the actual environment (like
> tabularx or includegraphics) used for transcoded exported element.

> I can see how :float+:placement can be imprecise and that the existing
> :environment indeed serves a different purpose. (It might be worth
> clarifying this distinction in the manual - it seems arbitrary from
> the first glance).

> But what would be the better name then?

I think the problem is limited to images, where there is no "double"
environment as in the case of tables (float environment that encloses an
environment to generate the table, and :placement points to the correct
environment). In the case of images, I am afraid that the new features
have advanced the meaning of the old ones. Previously, :float only
supported t/nil ("figure" by default, in case of t) along with a few
explicit "float" environments, such as sidewaysfigure or wrapfigure.
Since :float now can accept any string as an environment name, Pandora's
box has been opened and the meaning of the old :float has been left
behind: for example, we can put :float minipage, and minipage is not a
float environment. Something similar has happened to :placement.

My suggestion is to add a :environment attribute next to another
:environment-options attr (or something like that, to introduce any
arbitrary LaTeX code). A LaTeX image can be enclosed in many environment
types, float or non-float. However, :float can still be useful for
certain combinations. For example, a minipage environment cannot include
a caption (it produces an error of the type "LaTeX Error: \caption
outside float"). Then you would have to put something like


#+ATTR_LaTeX: :float nil :environment minipage :environment-options {\linewidth}
#+CAPTION: caption
[[file:foo.png]]

==>

\begin{minipage}{\linewidth}
\includegraphics[width=.9\linewidth]{foo.png}
\captionof{figure}{caption}
\end{minipage}

Anyway, I find pros and cons of all this:

- pros: a intended feature is added, although with :float and :placement
  the same thing can be achieved (sometimes), but here the effect is not
  intended (in origin).

- cons: redundancy, more complexity in the code (and probably more confusion 
for the user?).

-- 
Juan Manuel Macías