Re: using @titleplage in every format

[Patrice Dumas]

On Sun, Feb 17, 2019 at 11:58:16PM +0000, Gavin Smith wrote:
> On 2/17/19, Patrice Dumas <address@hidden> wrote:
> > I think that it would be better not to consider @titlepage to be format
> > specific.  Indeed a title page is a semantic formatting that is
> > applicable to almost every format.  It would still be possible to use
> > format specific formatting in the title page, but that would not be the
> > default.  This could allow to simplify most manuals which title page is
> > applicable to every format.
> 
> What changes need to be made to make @titlepage not format-specific?

For HTML there is already a way to use the titlepage, with 
 USE_TITLEPAGE_FOR_TITLE

For docbook the semantic information is already used (I think), so no
need to change.

Plaintext/Info should be changed to print the @titlepage at the right
place.

My proposal is the following:
Leave @top without argument.  That way TeX will ignore it.
In general, output the titlepage after the first node, or at the
beginning of @top.  For formats like docbook that are fully semantic,
of for LaTeX which uses environments, follow the format conventions.
@settitle is still useful for the HTML <title>, or in headings or such
uses.

The issue with that change is that it requires modifying existing
manuals.  Another change is that the copying information will be at the
beginning of the manual in every output, but this is probably a good
thing.  If this is not wanted, it is still possible to have the
@titlepage @insertcopying within an @iftex.

The typical document would become

===================================================================
\input texinfo.tex    @c -*-texinfo-*-

@setfilename texinfo.info
@settitle GNU Texinfo @value{VERSION}

@copying
This manual is for ...
@end copying

@titlepage
@title Texinfo
@subtitle The GNU Documentation Format
@subtitle for Texinfo version @value{VERSION}, @value{UPDATED}

@author Robert J. Chassell
@author Richard M. Stallman

@page
@vskip 0pt plus 1filll
@insertcopying

@sp 1
@end titlepage


@summarycontents
@contents

@node Top
@top 

@menu
* titi::
...
@end menu

@node titi
@chapter titi

....
@bye
===================================================================

-- 
Pat