Re: [Groff] names in groff -- was: Another hdtbl patch

[walter harms]

Mike Bianchi schrieb:
> On Thu, Feb 04, 2010 at 10:11:59PM +0100, Werner LEMBERG wrote:
>>>     No macro, register, or string name within standard macro
>>>     packages will ever end in * .  Thus all user created names
>>>     that end in * will never collide with any within the standard
>>>     macro packages.
>> Nice idea.  Have you already verified that no macro provided by any of
>> the `big' macro packages end with `*'?
> 
> No, I have not.  I was just shooting from the hip.
> 
>>  It should be noted that such
>> user macro names must be longer than two characters.
> 
> 
> I'm thinking groff needs the concept of  namespace  .
> 
> By default, everything lives in the top, unnamed namespace so all the bugs
> are preserved.
> 
> E.g.
>       .de LI          \"  my own take on the LI macro in the mm macros
>               :
>       ..
> 
>       .namespace MM -mm       \"  start the namespace MM,
>                               \"  which contains the -mm macro package.
> 
>       .MM.BL          \"  use  .BL  from the MM namespace
>       .LI             \"  use  .LI  from the top (unnamed) namespace
>               :
>       .MM.LI          \"  use  .LI  from MM
>               :
>       .MM.LE
> 
>       .BL             \"  There is only one .BL (in MM);  use it.
>       .LI             \"  As above.
>               :
>       .MM.LI          \"  As above.
>               :
>       .LE             \"  There is only one .LE (in MM);  use it.
> 
>       .MM.            \"  default all following macros to the MM namespace.
>       .BL             \"  use  .BL  from MM
>       .LI             \"  use  .LI  from MM
>               :
>       ._.LI           \"  use  .LI  from the unnamed namespace (named  _ ?)
>               :
>       .LE
>       ..namespace MM          \"  end default to MM .
> 
>       .MM.BL                  \"  still defined.
> 
>       .namespace Mine         \"  start the  Mine  namespace.
>       .de Glurp               \"  defines  .Mine.Glurp .
>               :
>       ..
>       .Glurp                  \"  uses  .Mine.Glurp ,
>                               \"" unless  ._.Glurp  is defined.
>       ..namespace Mine        \"  end  Mine .
> 
>       .Mine.Glurp             \"  still defined.
> 
> This is just a sketch, and needs to be thought about more.
> I'm sure someone who designs languages will have good suggestions.
> 


1. I have no idea about the inner workings of groff/troff.

I do not thing that there is a need for namespaces. Simply stop when a macro is 
defined again
(opposed to redefined),  helpful error messages will support debugging.

re,
 wh