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| author | Glenn Morris | 2008-10-21 03:22:25 +0000 |
|---|---|---|
| committer | Glenn Morris | 2008-10-21 03:22:25 +0000 |
| commit | 8e5de32397a71181ec8f5025fcea9277ff3274dc (patch) | |
| tree | c0c551e64e3081bf5880d493fe01ca8c2f594228 /admin/notes/documentation | |
| parent | 8be68090963c9306b016df9fbefca1c634ec8da9 (diff) | |
| download | emacs-8e5de32397a71181ec8f5025fcea9277ff3274dc.tar.gz emacs-8e5de32397a71181ec8f5025fcea9277ff3274dc.zip | |
New file, with some wisdom from emacs-devel.
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| 1 | -*- outline -*- | ||
| 2 | |||
| 3 | Some documentation tips culled from emacs-devel postings. | ||
| 4 | |||
| 5 | |||
| 6 | ** Manual indices | ||
| 7 | |||
| 8 | http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2008-10/msg00400.html | ||
| 9 | |||
| 10 | For example, this text: | ||
| 11 | |||
| 12 | @vindex x-gtk-show-hidden-files | ||
| 13 | @vindex x-gtk-file-dialog-help-text | ||
| 14 | When Emacs is compiled with GTK+ support, it uses the GTK+ ``file | ||
| 15 | chooser'' dialog. Emacs adds an additional toggle button to this | ||
| 16 | dialog, which you can use to enable or disable the display of hidden | ||
| 17 | files (files starting with a dot) in that dialog. If you want this | ||
| 18 | toggle to be activated by default, change the variable | ||
| 19 | @code{x-gtk-show-hidden-files} to @code{t}. In addition, Emacs adds | ||
| 20 | help text to the GTK+ file chooser dialog; to disable this help text, | ||
| 21 | change the variable @code{x-gtk-file-dialog-help-text} to @code{nil}. | ||
| 22 | |||
| 23 | has index entries for the variables it describes, which is good, but | ||
| 24 | what if a user looks for this information without knowing the names of | ||
| 25 | these variables? For those, I added these two concept index entries: | ||
| 26 | |||
| 27 | @cindex hidden files, in GTK+ file chooser | ||
| 28 | @cindex help text, in GTK+ file chooser | ||
| 29 | |||
| 30 | Thus, if a user types "i hidden files TAB" in Info, she will see the | ||
| 31 | first entry, and if so if she types "i file chooser RET". See why it | ||
| 32 | is better? | ||
| 33 | |||
| 34 | The way to come up with useful index entries is to put yourself in the | ||
| 35 | shoes of someone who looks for the information, and think about words | ||
| 36 | and phrases you'd use to find it. | ||
| 37 | |||
| 38 | One other rule for good indexing is not to have several index entries | ||
| 39 | that begin with the same substring and point to the same page or | ||
| 40 | screenful (i.e. to places that are close to one another). Here's a | ||
| 41 | fictitious example of such redundant entries: | ||
| 42 | |||
| 43 | @cindex foobar, how to use | ||
| 44 | @cindex foobar rules | ||
| 45 | |||
| 46 | Either leave only one of these, e.g. just "@cindex foobar", or | ||
| 47 | combine them into a single entry, e.g.: | ||
| 48 | |||
| 49 | @cindex foobar, rules and usage | ||
| 50 | |||
| 51 | |||
| 52 | ** Point is a proper name | ||
| 53 | |||
| 54 | http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2008-10/msg00414.html | ||
| 55 | |||
| 56 | In Emacs tradition, we treat "point" as a proper name when it refers | ||
| 57 | to the current editing location. It should not have an article. | ||
| 58 | |||
| 59 | Thus, it is incorrect to write, "The point does not move". It should | ||
| 60 | be, "Point does not move". | ||
| 61 | |||
| 62 | If you see "the point" anywhere in Emacs documentation or comments, | ||
| 63 | referring to point, please fix it. | ||
| 64 | |||
| 65 | |||
| 66 | ** Don't use passive verbs | ||
| 67 | |||
| 68 | http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2008-10/msg00414.html | ||
| 69 | |||
| 70 | Documentation is clearer if it avoids the passive voice whenever | ||
| 71 | possible. For example, rather than saying "Point does not move", say | ||
| 72 | "This does not move point". If you come across passive verbs in Emacs | ||
| 73 | documentation or comments, please see if it is possible to make the | ||
| 74 | text shorter and clearer using the active voice. Usually that does | ||
| 75 | make an improvement. The explicit subject required by the active voice | ||
| 76 | often provides important information which makes the text clearer, too. | ||