[Pmwiki-users] Markup

[Pedro Miller Rabinovitch]

<IMVHPO> (the 'V' is for Very, 'P' for Particular/Personal)
>  - Look *both* sides [=_=]before[=_=] crossing [BusyStreets];
>  - Always make _sure_ you're [=*=]up-to-date[=*=] [=[=]with the [Safety
> Guide][=]=]. - There are 24 [=*=] 60 [=*=] 60 == 1440 seconds in a day

Ah -- ok. You have a terrific point here... and one I'm using for *my* side. 
>:) Here's the thing: you're right -- ugly resulting markup is a CRITICAL 
issue and should be REALLY taken in consideration (I'd even go out on a limb 
and say it's one of the top two points to be taken in consideration, together 
with reversability).

Now, here's the thing -- why did I even come up with this idea in the first 
place?

1) People discussing what's the "best" (_their_ best, of course) way to 
mark-up;

2) The fact that many of my pages, in particular those which talk a lot about 
code, are starting to look ugly from too many @@oohs@@ and [=aahs=] (or in my 
specific case, [[@@function doIt( tbl) ... end @@]], which is my particular 
multi-lined "code" delimiter -- more on this on another occasion).

Now, the thing is -- with choosable Wiki markup, different mark-up styles 
could be applied to edit different pages (always BY THE USER, of course) to 
make it easier to edit each of them. For instance -- while writing normal 
text, how often do you use asterisks (`*'), if not to prepare unordered lists 
or give emphasys? On the other hand, when writing programming code, how often 
do you use asterisks for that effect, as compared to multiplication?

Consider the following:
* in this case, I'm writing *text*, so I don't want to multiply *anything*;
* on other cases, it might be different. Even so, I could use a backslash to 
print out a \*, or [=[=*=]=] if that's what the language requests. But it 
should be rare, I guess.

/* However, in this context I'm more than likely using asterisks as plain 
asterisks. */
char *message;
/* '''pay attention''' to the variable above! */

That's another advantage I can see for the whole choosable-markup thing.

> And I don't even want to consider what happens with
> PmWiki's simple tables or preformatted text areas, where whitespace
> (and thus column/text alignment) are significant in terms of making
> the markup readable.

Yeah. That scares me a bit as well, and might be a real problem. I'll think 
about it overnight.

> This isn't a "no", it's just demonstrating some of the difficulty.

Sure, definetly. I've been taking it as that. >:)

If you refused, it wouldn't matter anyway. I'd just put it in my Lua 
implementation of a Wiki. >;) However, I find your input particularly 
valuable, since so far I've seen we share the same philosophy as far as Wikis 
and development are concerned.

> And in the
> escaping process we can end up with some pretty ugly markup.

Ok, but then the original markup would also had been ugly, if that style had 
been used to code the page. There's a point where it's not the translator's 
fault anymore -- the style just requires too much escaping.

</IMVHPO>

> > (in my hierarchy, 'easy' is pretty close to 'possible'. Just one of the
> > many things that have driven to my present closeness to insanity >;) )
> Heh.  In the next week or so I hope to finally publish my article wherein
> I describe how I determine what features to work on for my various
> projects.  :-)

Cool, I look forward to reading that.

> > I know it's a tough cookie. But I think it would push the envelope in the
> > whole wiki-area.
> Indeed, it's a very worthy goal and something I'll definitely keep in
> mind as I continue developing things.  :-)

Great. Than my work here is done. *wraps cape around self and falls through 
window*

Cheers,

	Pedro

-- (The ideas expressed in this electronic message reflect the author's own 
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