Re: documentation of install() codes

[Karim Belabas <Karim.Belabas@math.u-bordeaux1.fr>]

* Bill Allombert [2012-01-27 23:16]:
> On Tue, Jan 24, 2012 at 10:33:11PM +0100, Jeroen Demeyer wrote:
> > I think the install codes (like "lGG") are documented in a place too
> > much hidden to quickly find them (they are in section 5.7.3 of the
> > libpari manual).
> > 
> > Would you mind to include them as part of ??install?
> 
> Maybe we could add a reference to 
> ??"Interlude: parser codes"@5
> instead. The documentation of install() is too long already.

I'll do that. But that would still be inconvenient: the function
documentation would still be split over 2 separate documents (libpari
vs. gp users's manuals), and the ?? extended online help -- when it's
available! -- is inconvenient for long entries when we don't have an X
server running [ -detex mode ].

I think some general overview should indeed be included in ??install,
though certainly *not* a complete reference for all parser codes.


I first thought about ?& or ?() (say), to print a minimal list of the
parser codes, just like we have '?.', '?\'.

Then I had a better idea : how about adding some \ shortcuts, analogous
to \t, which quickly documents the PARI types. We could have

 \te : for the error() codes (e_TYPE, e_INTMOD, etc.)

 \ti : for the install() prototype atoms (G, L, v, etc.)

 \tm : alias for ?. (member functions)

Maybe some others ?

I believe that shortcuts are more adapted than '?' for this since they
use a separate namespace [ we can't have ?prototype without interfering
with a possible addhelp(prototype,"...")

Cheers,

    K.B.

P.S: An unrelated idea from the PARI/GP Atelier last week: either move
escape() and related functions implementing ? and \[a-z].* to libpari or
create a libgp. It would make frontends like Paridroid -- or minigp ! --
even easier to write.

-- 
Karim Belabas, IMB (UMR 5251)  Tel: (+33) (0)5 40 00 26 17
Universite Bordeaux 1          Fax: (+33) (0)5 40 00 69 50
351, cours de la Liberation    http://www.math.u-bordeaux1.fr/~belabas/
F-33405 Talence (France)       http://pari.math.u-bordeaux1.fr/  [PARI/GP]
`