zim-wiki team mailing list archive

[Dotan Cohen <dotancohen@xxxxxxxxx>]

On 14 June 2010 18:30, Fabian Moser <e-mail@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> On Mon, 14 Jun 2010 17:56:31 +0300
> Dotan Cohen <dotancohen@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>> It seems to me (this can be debated) that the preceding __ is opening
>> a state. How is that different than <ctrl-I>? Serious question, I am
>> not criticizing your argument but trying to understand it. ...
>
> It is not opening a state, because you can use __ easily within Zim and
> nothing will happen unless you use another __ in the same line. One __
> by itself has no special meaning at all and thus is no state change.
> <ctrl-I> is.
>

I see, thanks.


> A more computer-scientific way to see is, that for <ctrl-I>,
> (editing) sequence matters, while for __ it doesn't. If I type "text__"
> and then go back and add "__" in front, it has the intended effect. On
> the other hand if I type "text<ctrl-I>" and then go back and press
> "<ctrl-I>" in front, obviously nothing happens. Hence, __ is stateless
> while <ctrl-I> isn't.
>

However, that means that __ is unambiguous. If the user needs to enter
__ for whatever reason, then he has to worry if another one was added
earlier?


>> I never said that wiki markup must be abandoned. I said that it should
>> be optional. I've said that repeatedly. I understand that there is a
>> need for wiki markup, and that some people like it, and that is fine.
>
> That's what I uderstood as well. Just your question "do you really need
> the ability to type **text**?" seemed to imply that I may not need to
> type **text**. If that implication was unintended, I'm sorry for the
> misunderstanding.
>

Actually, I think that it's cultural! I had a similar misunderstanding
last week regarding a filter patent. I asked why a particular design
was superior to the current state of the art, and it was taken to mean
that I doubted that design's superiority. I will have to be careful
about that!

If there was a better way to word it so that it will be clear that I
am asking a serious question and not merely expressing doubt, then I'd
love to know!

Thanks!

-- 
Dotan Cohen

http://gibberish.co.il
http://what-is-what.com