Re: Manual does not mention dictionary.el

[Jean Louis]

On November 23, 2024 4:51:03 PM GMT+03:00, Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org> wrote:
>> Date: Sat, 23 Nov 2024 15:13:43 +0200
>> Cc: Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org>, emacs-devel@gnu.org
>> From: Petteri Hintsanen <petterih@iki.fi>
>> 
>> C-h P is news for me, thanks.
>> 
>> > but discovery is a non-trivial problem for roughly everyone
>> 
>> It is, like data management in general.
>> 
>> For me, manuals (texinfo, man pages) are "the" definitive source for 
>> information about the installed features.  Occasionally I use C-h a too, 
>> as it often catches things that are not mentioned in manuals.
>
>This is not the best practice for Emacs.  The Emacs manuals don't
>mention all the features, simply because there are too many of them,
>and mentioning them all will make the manuals impractically large.
>
>By contrast, the built-in Help commands will return information about
>all the features that are either already loaded or auto-loaded.
>

As an advocate for clarity and completeness, I believe the Emacs manual should 
encompass all features of Emacs. By definition, a manual is meant to provide 
comprehensive guidance, and leaving features undocumented goes against its 
purpose. Emacs is a vast and powerful tool, and its users deserve a reference 
that covers every aspect of its functionality to truly harness its potential.

We shall not look for size of manual to be "practical" while avoiding inclusion 
of useful features.

But what do you mean, practical for what situation?

Is it for printing maybe?



Jean