[Pmwiki-users] Free link questions

[Patrick R. Michaud]

A quick query to see how things "ought to head" and then
I'll build the table from there.  


On 18 Mar 2003, John Rankin wrote:
> Can I suggest $Tlink_ uses $Title_ and $Tlink uses $Title.

I thought of that also, but I'm concerned about the number 
of $-format variables that are getting built into the 
FmtPageName function, and the overhead of trying to 
explain the differences to wiki administrators.  From a
performance perspective, FmtPageName gets called ''a lot'', 
and the more that it has to handle, the slower things will
likely get.

> At the moment, the free link pattern doesn't allow '_' as part of the link. 

Oops, you're right.  I forgot that I set the free link pattern 
to not allow '_' in free links.  My thinking at the time was that
a wiki administrator who sets $PageNameSpace to '_' would probably
also modify the $FreeLinkPattern to allow underscores, so that
an author seeing "Free_Link" as a page name (e.g. in a URL) 
would be able to write {{Free_Link}} in the wiki markup.

I also forgot that the default $PageTitlePattern doesn't allow
underscores in pagenames, either, so the concerns I listed about
"Wiki_Word" not functioning properly in PmWiki's default
configuration doesn't apply either.

> So I see the table like this. Assume the existing free link pattern.
> [...]

Your table is very good--I'll have to study it a bit more.

> I think PmWiki needs another variable, to support 4 possible scenarios.

I agree, but the number of scenarios themselves is getting complex.  I have
the strong feeling that adding another variable (and adding $Tlink_)
is adding unnecessary complexity whereas removing or rethinking some
variables will result in a simpler and more powerful solution.

> I probably agree that '_' is to be deprecated, but since it's a lot 
> easier to change the space replace character than to change the free 
> link pattern, it should probably support case B.

Of course I really prefer to deprecate '_' altogether (i.e., get
rid of $PageNameSpace entirely), but it's probably true that I 
need to make it possible for someone to have underscores in titles 
if they want them.  So, I think I'll have to sleep one night on
this and see if I have a better answer in the morning.

Pm