[PATCH] doc/ctf-spec.texi: Remove "@validatemenus off"

[PATCH] doc/ctf-spec.texi: Remove "@validatemenus off"

[H.J. Lu]

Remove @validatemenus from ctf-spec.texi, which has been removed from
texinfo by

commit a16dd1a9ece08568a1980b9a65a3a9090717997f
Author: Gavin Smith <gavinsmith0123@gmail.com>
Date:   Mon Oct 12 16:32:37 2020 +0100

    * doc/texinfo.texi
    (Writing a Menu, Customization Variables for @-Commands)
    (Command List),
    * doc/refcard/txirefcard.tex
    Remove @validatemenus.
    * tp/Texinfo/XS/Makefile.am (command_ids.h): Use gawk instead
    of awk.  Avoid discouraged "$p" usage, using "$(p)" instead.
    * tp/Texinfo/XS/configure.ac: Check for gawk.

commit 128acab3889b51809dc3bd3c6c74b61d13f7f5f4
Author: Gavin Smith <gavinsmith0123@gmail.com>
Date:   Thu Jan 3 14:51:53 2019 +0000

    Update refcard.

    * doc/refcard/txirefcard.tex: @setfilename is no longer
    mandatory.  Do not mention @validatemenus or explicitly giving
    @node pointers, as these are not very important features.

	PR libctf/28567
	* doc/ctf-spec.texi: Remove "@validatemenus off".
---
 libctf/doc/ctf-spec.texi | 1 -
 1 file changed, 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/libctf/doc/ctf-spec.texi b/libctf/doc/ctf-spec.texi
index 78c7aed7642..07d860ddc92 100644
--- a/libctf/doc/ctf-spec.texi
+++ b/libctf/doc/ctf-spec.texi
@@ -2,7 +2,6 @@
 @setfilename ctf-spec.info
 @settitle The CTF File Format
 @ifnottex
-@validatemenus off
 @xrefautomaticsectiontitle on
 @end ifnottex
 @synindex fn cp
-- 
2.33.1

Re: [PATCH] doc/ctf-spec.texi: Remove "@validatemenus off"

[Nick Alcock]

On 9 Nov 2021, H. J. Lu stated:

> Remove @validatemenus from ctf-spec.texi, which has been removed from
> texinfo by

Thanks! But... does this mean we have to write all texinfo menus
explicitly again, or does it mean we don't need to do it at all, ever?
From your change, it seems it's the latter.

(If the latter... wonderful! If the former, I curse the world.)

Re: [PATCH] doc/ctf-spec.texi: Remove "@validatemenus off"

[H.J. Lu]

On Tue, Nov 9, 2021 at 1:29 PM Nick Alcock <nick.alcock@oracle.com> wrote:
>
> On 9 Nov 2021, H. J. Lu stated:
>
> > Remove @validatemenus from ctf-spec.texi, which has been removed from
> > texinfo by
>
> Thanks! But... does this mean we have to write all texinfo menus
> explicitly again, or does it mean we don't need to do it at all, ever?
> From your change, it seems it's the latter.
>
> (If the latter... wonderful! If the former, I curse the world.)

I am not a texinfo expert.  Since @validatemenus isn't used in GCC,
glibc nor binutils texinfo file, I assume that it isn't needed.

-- 
H.J.

Re: [PATCH] doc/ctf-spec.texi: Remove "@validatemenus off"

[Nick Alcock]

On 9 Nov 2021, H. J. Lu said:

> On Tue, Nov 9, 2021 at 1:29 PM Nick Alcock <nick.alcock@oracle.com> wrote:
>> (If the latter... wonderful! If the former, I curse the world.)
>
> I am not a texinfo expert.  Since @validatemenus isn't used in GCC,
> glibc nor binutils texinfo file, I assume that it isn't needed.

That's a risky assumption. Those manuals are all old enough that they
all have handwritten menus, which I was specifically trying to avoid on
the grounds that writing Texinfo menus by hand is an odious waste of
time and just repeats stuff given elsewhere in the document anyway. If
you take @validatemenus out without doing anything else, in at least
some Texinfos (up to 6.4, perhaps, from the code?), the menus in the
generated info document are all going to vanish, leaving the nodes
inaccessible.

I'll give things a try with 6.8 tomorrow and see if the nodes actually
are being autogenerated even without @validatemenus: there is no longer
any documentation saying that automatic menu generation even exists, but
there still seems to be code to do it (see commit
c86d0ee139f7449aa72f81bc07af47684c1a6c3b and
tp/Texinfo/Structuring.pm:complete_node_tree_with_menus().)

But it looks like we'll at least need to bump the texinfo requirement
for ctf-spec.texi generation further, until some version that generates
menus even in the absence of @validatemenus. The total lack of menution
of all the refactorings in this area (or even the removal of
@validatemenus) in the NEWS makes it quite hard to tell what version
that might be... given that this is only a specfile it's probably
acceptable to go all the way to 6.8 (iff I find that works).

-- 
NULL && (void)

Re: [PATCH] doc/ctf-spec.texi: Remove "@validatemenus off"

[H.J. Lu]

On Tue, Nov 9, 2021 at 3:51 PM Nick Alcock <nick.alcock@oracle.com> wrote:
>
> On 9 Nov 2021, H. J. Lu said:
>
> > On Tue, Nov 9, 2021 at 1:29 PM Nick Alcock <nick.alcock@oracle.com> wrote:
> >> (If the latter... wonderful! If the former, I curse the world.)
> >
> > I am not a texinfo expert.  Since @validatemenus isn't used in GCC,
> > glibc nor binutils texinfo file, I assume that it isn't needed.
>
> That's a risky assumption. Those manuals are all old enough that they
> all have handwritten menus, which I was specifically trying to avoid on
> the grounds that writing Texinfo menus by hand is an odious waste of
> time and just repeats stuff given elsewhere in the document anyway. If
> you take @validatemenus out without doing anything else, in at least
> some Texinfos (up to 6.4, perhaps, from the code?), the menus in the
> generated info document are all going to vanish, leaving the nodes
> inaccessible.
>
> I'll give things a try with 6.8 tomorrow and see if the nodes actually
> are being autogenerated even without @validatemenus: there is no longer
> any documentation saying that automatic menu generation even exists, but
> there still seems to be code to do it (see commit
> c86d0ee139f7449aa72f81bc07af47684c1a6c3b and
> tp/Texinfo/Structuring.pm:complete_node_tree_with_menus().)
>
> But it looks like we'll at least need to bump the texinfo requirement
> for ctf-spec.texi generation further, until some version that generates
> menus even in the absence of @validatemenus. The total lack of menution
> of all the refactorings in this area (or even the removal of
> @validatemenus) in the NEWS makes it quite hard to tell what version
> that might be... given that this is only a specfile it's probably
> acceptable to go all the way to 6.8 (iff I find that works).
>

You can check with and without "@validatemenus off" using an older
textinfo.


-- 
H.J.

Re: [PATCH] doc/ctf-spec.texi: Remove "@validatemenus off"

[Nick Alcock]

On 10 Nov 2021, H. J. Lu stated:

> On Tue, Nov 9, 2021 at 3:51 PM Nick Alcock <nick.alcock@oracle.com> wrote:
>> But it looks like we'll at least need to bump the texinfo requirement
>> for ctf-spec.texi generation further, until some version that generates
>> menus even in the absence of @validatemenus. The total lack of menution
>> of all the refactorings in this area (or even the removal of
>> @validatemenus) in the NEWS makes it quite hard to tell what version
>> that might be... given that this is only a specfile it's probably
>> acceptable to go all the way to 6.8 (iff I find that works).
>
> You can check with and without "@validatemenus off" using an older
> textinfo.

It seems to autogenerate menus fine all the way back to 6.3. I guess
@validatemenus off was completely unnecessary after all and I don't need
to change the minimum Texinfo version in libctf/configure.ac either :)
so thanks for removing it!

Re: [PATCH] doc/ctf-spec.texi: Remove "@validatemenus off"

[H.J. Lu]

On Wed, Nov 10, 2021 at 8:33 AM Nick Alcock <nick.alcock@oracle.com> wrote:
>
> On 10 Nov 2021, H. J. Lu stated:
>
> > On Tue, Nov 9, 2021 at 3:51 PM Nick Alcock <nick.alcock@oracle.com> wrote:
> >> But it looks like we'll at least need to bump the texinfo requirement
> >> for ctf-spec.texi generation further, until some version that generates
> >> menus even in the absence of @validatemenus. The total lack of menution
> >> of all the refactorings in this area (or even the removal of
> >> @validatemenus) in the NEWS makes it quite hard to tell what version
> >> that might be... given that this is only a specfile it's probably
> >> acceptable to go all the way to 6.8 (iff I find that works).
> >
> > You can check with and without "@validatemenus off" using an older
> > textinfo.
>
> It seems to autogenerate menus fine all the way back to 6.3. I guess
> @validatemenus off was completely unnecessary after all and I don't need
> to change the minimum Texinfo version in libctf/configure.ac either :)
> so thanks for removing it!

Glad things worked out well.

-- 
H.J.