From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.4 (2020-01-24) on polar.synack.me X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.9 required=5.0 tests=BAYES_00 autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.4 X-Google-Language: ENGLISH,ASCII-7-bit X-Google-Thread: 103376,25aa3c7e1b59f7b5 X-Google-Attributes: gid103376,public X-Google-ArrivalTime: 2002-01-15 09:21:58 PST Path: archiver1.google.com!news1.google.com!newsfeed.stanford.edu!news-spur1.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!fu-berlin.de!uni-berlin.de!ppp-1-54.cvx1.telinco.NET!not-for-mail From: "Nick Roberts" Newsgroups: comp.lang.ada Subject: Re: Literate Programming [was: A case where ...] Date: Mon, 14 Jan 2002 23:20:04 -0000 Message-ID: References: NNTP-Posting-Host: ppp-1-54.cvx1.telinco.net (212.1.136.54) X-Trace: fu-berlin.de 1011115316 31479157 212.1.136.54 (16 [25716]) X-Priority: 3 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Newsreader: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.50.4133.2400 X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.50.4133.2400 Xref: archiver1.google.com comp.lang.ada:18941 Date: 2002-01-14T23:20:04+00:00 List-Id: "Eric Merritt" wrote in message news:mailman.1011017881.956.comp.lang.ada@ada.eu.org... > Not to be simplistic Not in the least. > but isn't this just a multi-line comment? Yes, I think you're quite right. > I realize that the purpose is to support > literate programming but what you describe seems to be > a multi-line comment line C's /**/. Of course, this > does not mean to imply that the multi-line comments > could not be parsed to extract content by a literate > tool. That being said the syntax you describe could > probably be a bit cleaner so that both those who want > to use literate techniques and those who do not would > be comfortable with it. Certainly! The only slight variation I had in mind with my suggested syntax was: the switch is on a line on its own, and of a form unlikely to infere with the syntax of any programming language or text markup language; the syntax of the switch permits multiple named 'threads' of text, allowing perhaps maintenance documentation, the user guide, a tutorial, and other types of document to be generated from the one source file. I suspect, on reflection, that this kind of facility lies in the realm of macro processors (or maybe some sort of combined super-editor APSE), and more advanced make/build tools, and not Ada compilers as such. It was just a thought. Perhaps it's the ancient concept of a 'straight text file' that really needs to be rethought these days? -- Best wishes, Nick Roberts