Re: How to get the help of @?

[Max Brister]

On Sat, Sep 1, 2012 at 5:13 AM, Sergei Steshenko <address@hidden> wrote:
>
>
> --- On Fri, 8/31/12, Jordi Gutiérrez Hermoso <address@hidden> wrote:
>
>> From: Jordi Gutiérrez Hermoso <address@hidden>
>> Subject: Re: How to get the help of @?
>> To: "Sergei Steshenko" <address@hidden>
>> Cc: "Peng Yu" <address@hidden>, address@hidden
>> Date: Friday, August 31, 2012, 11:08 AM
>> On 31 August 2012 14:01, Sergei
>> Steshenko <address@hidden>
>> wrote:
>>
>> > This particular example shows that you apparently
>> ignore the "single point of
>> > change/maintenance" concept,
>>
>> Since you know it so well, you will have no trouble writing
>> the
>> required patch to fix Octave and make it obey this concept.
>>
>> - Jordi G. H.
>>
>
> You have yet another time shown your _fundamenta_ misunderstanding of 
> development methodology.
>
> Projects like Octave are done by _several_ developers.
>
> There _must_ be some project _management_ which/who thinks of overall 
> development flow and establishes guidelines.
>
> There _must_ be an entity which/who _enforces_ the guidelines.

We have a benevolent dictator, jwe, who sets and enforces these guidelines.

> For example, regarding the documentation - there is "overall" documentation 
> and per function documentation.
>
> There is (probably/hopefully) a vision how the final documentation should 
> look - for example, first introductory/"overall" part and then functions.
>
> This is a simplified picture, just a starting point.
>
> If to accept the above picture, people who implement functions _must_ supply 
> per their function documentation in an agreed form/format, and the project 
> management _must_ create a set of tools (either itself or by requesting 
> developers) which generates the documentation in all desired formats (e.g. 
> PDF, HTML, texinfo) from the _same_ set of supplied _primary_ sources.

Octave has scripts which extract the per function documentation and
combine it with the rest of the documentation (introduction,
interpreter description, ect). The documentation is in texinfo[1], the
official GNU documentation format, which is then used to build
texinfo, PDF, HTML, and help function documentation.

Documentation for the @ symbol is a special case, as it is an
operator. In this case the documentation is placed directly in
libinterp/interpfcn/help.cc. If you see a better way of doing this
please tell.

> Jordi, I can _not_ ("can not" means in this case _absence_ of physical 
> ability) write a patch which corrects your mind/your way of thinking/your way 
> of project management. Only _you_ can change your mind/your way of 
> thinking/your way of project management if you truly wish so.

For the most part Octave does what you think is good practice. If you
really think there still needs to be a change in project management,
make a fork and stop insulting Octave developers.

> That's why I wrote earlier that either ways of thinking or, if not possible, 
> _people_ should be replaced.

I'm happy to answer questions, but responding to insults is tiring.

> Regards,
>   Sergei.

-- 
Max Brister