Re: Gnus-FAQ: xml to texi with Scheme prog

[Miles Bader <snogglethorpe@gmail.com>]

On Sun, 20 Mar 2005 20:55:25 +0100, Reiner Steib
<reinersteib+gmane@imap.cc> wrote:
> On Tue, Mar 15 2005, Karl Pflästerer wrote:
> [ Scheme program to transform `gnus-faq.xml' to `gnus-faq.texi' ]
> 
> I have installed the files `xml2texi.scm' and `xml2texi.sh' in texi/
> in the v5-10 branch.  I did some modifications on `xml2texi.scm' and
> `gnus-faq.xml' to improve the printed output.
...
> - Currently texi/gnus-faq.texi has the following arch tag:
> 
> ,----
> | @ignore
> |    arch-tag: 64dc5692-edb4-4848-a965-7aa0181acbb8
> | @end ignore
> `----
> 
> How to deal with this?

Should the generated file be in the archive at all?  Hmmm, I guess
scheme is an unusual enough language that you can't rely on developers
having it installed (is the implementation hairy enough that it can't
be done in elisp or awk or something?).

>  Should we add something like...
> 
>   (insert "@ignore\n   "
>           "arch-tag: "
>           "64dc5692-edb4-4848-a965-7aa0181acbb8"
>           "\n@end ignore")
> 
> ... in `main' in `xml2texi.scm'?  I guess this would make sure that it
> is not confused with the arch tag of the file `xml2texi.scm'.  Miles?

Yes that would probably work.  The rules for finding arch-tag: in a
file are roughly: (1)  somewhere in the first or last 1K (2K?) of the
file, and (2) string "arch-tag:" on a line preceded by nothing but
puncuation or whitespace.  So splitting the "arch-tag:" in the insert
would be a good idea (e.g., use "arch-" "tag:" instead of
"arch-tag:").

Another method is to use an arch `explicit' tag for the generated file
(gnus-faq.texi), instead of an embedded arch-tag: line; then the
scheme source wouldn't have to insert anything special.  The only
downsides to this are that (1) explicit tags are slightly more clumsy
than tag lines (file moves &c need explicit detection), and (2)
_changing_ the tag basically means it's a new file (so the entire
contents of the file will present in the changeset describing the
changeover, not a diff); of course this last point is only a one-time
cost.

> (I will not install the re-created `gnus-faq.texi' before this is
> clarified.)

Thanks for caring... :-/

-Miles
-- 
Do not taunt Happy Fun Ball.