Re: [Groff] more html macros needed

[Ted Harding]

On 02-Jan-02 Bernd Warken wrote:
> We could define macros for single line arguments and other ones that
> stretch over several lines.
> 
>>   ./cyrillic
>> 
>> (Name conventions clearly inspired by HTML!).
> 
> Fine, another possibility is
> 
> .macro
> 
> for single line args and
> 
> .<macro
> .>macro
> 
> for the extended macro.

Am I misunderstanding, or are you misunderstanding?
The point of

  .cyrillic
  .....
  ./cyrillic

is that '.cyrillic' puts troff into a new state until
countermanded. './cyrillic' undoes this, reverting to
the previous state. I don't see '.cyrillic' as an instance
of a macro "with arguments that extend over several lines".

On the other hand, regarding the suggestion

  .<macro
  ....
  .>macro

for a macro with arguments that extend over several lines,
what's wrong with

  .macro These are the first agruments \
  and these are more arguments \
  and these are the rest of the arguments

Since there is already a perfectly good (and simple)
mechanism for doing this, why invent a new one?

Or, if you are thinking of each succeeding line
as a string-valued single argument to '.macro',
again what is wrong with

  .macro "This is the first argument" \
  "This is the second argument" \
  "And this is the final argument"

??
Again, there's already a straightforward and simple
way to do it!

Or have I missed the point altogether?

Ted.

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Date: 02-Jan-02                                       Time: 19:24:49
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