Re: Why does simply creating a diversion produce output?

[Steve Izma]

On Tue, May 05, 2020 at 07:59:45AM +1000, G. Branden Robinson wrote:
> Subject: Re: Why does simply creating a diversion produce output?
> 
> > > .di d
> > > foo
> > > .di
> > > .rm d
> > 
> > Output is only sent to the diversion when a break occurs, either
> > explicitly with .br, or when enough text has been collected to fill a
> > line, or in no-fill mode.  Otherwise, the diversion remains empty, but
> > a partially collected line exists when the end of input is
> > encountered.
> 
> I think I'd like to add that first sentence to the Texinfo manual and
> groff(7).  At present, the Texinfo manual simply says, "The current
> partially filled line is included in the diversion."

This refers to any partially filled line occurring before the
diversion starts (i.e., at the time of encountering the ".di d").
As I said in a previous message, diversions are completely
separate from page traps. In my experience I use diversions most
often when I need to measure the size of the output of the
contents of the diversion. Then I can decide if the diversion
fits in a particular place on the page, then move to that place
and output the diversion's contents.

In order to prevent partially filled lines going in at the
beginning of the diversion, I normally begin a new environment
at the start of the diversion. An alternative is to use .box
instead of .di.

        -- Steve

-- 
Steve Izma
-
Home: 35 Locust St., Kitchener, Ontario, Canada  N2H 1W6
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==
I have always felt the necessity to verify what to many seemed a
simple multiplication table.
        -- Ilya Ehrenburg (Soviet author and critic; he's not
           talking about mathematics)