Re: Transposing words over middle words

[Emanuel Berg]

Drew Adams wrote:

>>>> By the way, what does `special' do?
>>>> ;; FIXME document SPECIAL. (defun transpose-subr (mover arg &optional 
>>>> special) "Document SPECIAL" - good idea :)
>>>
>>> https://debbugs.gnu.org/cgi/bugreport.cgi?bug=29328
>>
>> Good. Now it says so in the source, I said
>> it here, and you said it on debbugs.
>> That should be enough.
>
> Alas, far from enough.
>
> The bug was was closed summarily, under the
> pretext that it's impossible to describe
> parameter SPECIAL, and that this is only an
> "internal subroutine" so it need not have
> complete doc.

If it is impossible to describe what it does
then what value (purpose) does it have? (I
confess I do not understand this from
the source.)

If `transpose-subr' is internal and for that
reason doesn't need documentation, whatever
logic now that is, why is there a docstring to
begin with? Now it is just confusing to have
a docstring and to look in vain for SPECIAL.

In programming, there isn't really any
"bike-shedding". Even a minor issue can bring
the whole thing down. Better to have the
intention to do everything as close to
perfection as possible. If you instead start
thinking "isn't there something better to do?"
- well, of course there is, but the result
might instead be nothing at all is ever done.

-- 
underground experts united
http://user.it.uu.se/~embe8573