Re: Online manual using editor tags

[mcsun!Germany.EU.net!urmel.informatik.rwth-aachen.de!akela!klausf@uunet.u u.net (Klaus Frank)]

anderson@dseg.ti.com (John Anderson) vrites:

>Does anyone know of an online version of an Ada tutorial or manual
>that is implemented in a way similar to  a hypertext application?

You can use the 'tag' feature of the UNIX editor 'vi' or the GNU
browser 'less' to simulate hypertext links.  If your compiler adds
error messages with references to the LRM as comments to your source
code, you can look up the chapter referred to (recursive if your vi
supports tagstacks) and return to the source code within a few
keystrokes.  You can also use words occurring in the error messages or
the LRM itself as 'links' to the glossary using command '^]' and follow
the references found therein.

Please reply by mail if you want me to post a vi tagfile (using search
strings) for the LRM.  (Does anybody know if line numbers can be
searched for more efficient? Does vi use Boyer-Moore fixed string
search?).

You can find a similar tagfile for GNU Emacs on wsmr-simtel20.army.mil
in directory pd7:[ADA.GNU-ADA-MODE] named LRMTAGS.NUL.2 . Emacs tag
files contain search strings (chapter headings) and absolute text
positions.  For documentation on Emacs tags, visit node 'Tags' in the
Emacs Info system.

--
In 'vi reference, Version 8', Maarten Litmaath <maart@nat.vu.nl> writes:

>   Warning: some vi versions don't support the more esoteric features

    Tag commands:  (possible rhs for macros, e.g. ':map T :tag ')
>    :ta <name>              | Search in the tags file[s] where <name> is
>                            |   defined (file, line), and go to it.
>    ^]                      | Use the name under the cursor in a `:ta' command
.
                             |   (But e.g.'3.3.3' is not recognized
                             |   as a single name).
>    ^T                      | Pop the previous tag off the tagstack and return
>    ^^                      | Edit the alternate (normally the previous) file.

    Relevant vi variables:
>    taglength=<*>           | The number of significant characters in tags
>                            |   (0 = unlimited).
>    tags=<string>           | The space-separated list of tags files.
     tagstack                | Enable tagstack feature