LYNX-DEV: RE -trace avail only at startup of lynx

[David Combs]

Just for the fun of it, I tried -trace.  IMMENSE output,
probably much from reading the bookmarks file.

Wouldn't it be nice if you could turn on -trace from the
middle of a running lynx?  That way you could trace
just "the current problem", making trace much more
user-friendly (VASTLY less output).

I looked in "options" ("O"), and saw nothing about trace.
Thus, it seems as if it is available to be turned on only
at lynx STARTUP.

Sure is nice what trn and less have done re cmd-line options,
making them equally available interactively from within
a running trn or less, via a "-" command.  Is VERY user-friendly,
that facility.

And if there are SOME options that only a sysadmin should be
able to set, then those can be disallowed for the interactive
mode.

A general "enter cmd line options interactively" feature would go
a long way to making lynx into an "environment" which the user
can go "into", and just STAY there, doing -trace when it turns
out to be useful (and then turning it off again), doing
-crawl, etc, when comes to a www-site with a tree of small
pieces of documentation, when he wants it ALL, (then turning
off -crawl, etc), and continue to browse around.

All that, plus the "lcd" (local change directory) command a la ftp,
would be a HUGE addition to being able to download documentation,
etc, from the net, so it can be later printed out and read off-line,
eg on commuter train, airplane, easy chair, bed, ...

Does anyone think any of this would be useful?

If anyone knows that doing this would be supper-difficult,
please respond as to WHY, so I and others? can understand
it.  THANKS!

(As with any general program, Lynx users want to put it to
uses never dreamed of by its implementors!)
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