Re: lynx-dev Lynx 2.8.2rel1: suggestion for --enable-color-style

[Rob Partington]

In message <address@hidden>, 
           Klaus Weide writes:
> 
> I know why.  Since Tom and I took your original color-style code and
> merged it with the then current devel code (at around 2.7, I think), and 
> then tried to make it work - there were numerous inconsistencies and 
> crashes, with nearly no useful comments, no instructions or documentation
> from you - you didn't participate at all in any of that.  In fact, I don't

I don't remember getting any emails about the internals of it.  Perhaps
if I had, I might have been able to help.  I've pointed out several times
that I just don't have enough time to follow every message in lynx-dev;
if I missed messages asking for help with colour-styles, I apologise.

On the other hand, if you didn't contact me, it's hardly surprising 
I didn't participate, is it?  

> remember ever seeing *any* indication that you have even looked at the
> merged code since then, as far as color styles are concerned.  You just
> discouraged the effort, and said you had a "completely rewritten" and
> "completely different" version:
> <URL:http://www.flora.org/lynx-dev/html/month0597/msg00684.html>.

Because that colour-styles code is a deadend.  It was a proof of concept
hack to see if it were possible, nothing more.  I'm happy that people
considered it good enough to put in the mainline code, but I have _never_
thought it was good enough or useful enough to inflict on other people.

> But that new-and-improved version never appeared, I am quite sure you
> never announced something like it to lynx-dev since I was waiting for it,
> and the "pre-alpha code" remained all we had to build on.

Unfortunately, it mutated into ObjectTreeLynx.  Again, a proof of concept
hack that may or may not be useful to other people.  Still a long way off
though because inconvenient things like jobs, moving house, etc. get in 
the way.  My apologies.

> I have never seen a version that worked (or compiled) with color styles
> and slang.  AFAIK, nobody except you has ever got this to work, with any
> of the code you published or any of its descendants.

I published the code I had working.  Same as the form-based file upload
I've just uploaded the patch for.  It works for me.  If people want to
integrate it into the mainstream Lynx, fine.  I'll help with debugging 
if I'm asked.

> It took a lot of reverse engineering (over a long period of time) to more
> or less understand how the color-style code (in that documentation-free
> "pre-alpha" version, since that's all we had) was supposed to work with
> (n)curses, at least for me, and there is still stuff I don't understand. 

See above.  I don't remember any emails asking for information.  

> > I know it works, I wrote it and I use it.
> 
> You must be talking about something you never shared with lynx-dev.

I shared the code I had working.  I apologise if my code didn't work for
you, but it did work for me.  I'll see if I can dig it out when I get home.
-- 
rob partington % address@hidden % http://lynx.browser.org/