Re: Is Emacs very alive, active and improving?

[Emanuel Berg]

wgreenhouse@riseup.net (W. Greenhouse) writes:

> I don't think Google Trends is an accurate measure of how many
> people are using Emacs, because Emacs is largely
> self-documenting, not just through the Info manuals but also
> from the dynamically generated documentation from Elisp programs
> themselves.

I've heard that Emacs is self-documenting numerous times, and, if
this refers to the docstrings of Elisp functions, I have to say
"self-documenting" is stretching the truth. The docstrings are a
handy way to provide documentation, and the Emacs access to that
documentation is provided instantly upon evaluation of the defun
(of if it is some other thing: a variable, perhaps). This is all
well and good, but the documentation has to be written
nonetheless, like any other documentation.

Emacs can also tell you the parameters of a function, where it is
defined (and provide hyperlinks), etc., and this is indispensable
knowledge, for sure - but perhaps not "documentation" as much as a
specification for a person who already knows the workings.

-- 
Emanuel Berg - programmer (hire me! CV below)
computer projects: http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573
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