Subject: RE: bug#20385: [PROPOSED PATCH] Support quoting 'like this' in doc strings

From: Drew Adams <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 23 Apr 2015 11:23:03 -0700 (PDT)

> Finally, from this thread it's clear that some folks like quoting
> `like this' and I suppose there's no harm in continuing to support it,
> so in my next iteration of this patch I plan to remove commentary to the
> effect that this usage is obsolescent and may not be supported in
> the future.  So, people who prefer quoting `like this' (e.g., because
> it's easier with their non-Emacs text editors), will still be free to do
> that.

1. What exactly do you mean by "people who prefer...will still be free
   to do that"?  Is this choice only at the end-user level?  Can a
   library make such a choice (to be possibly overridden by a user choice)?

2. Does your proposed change affect only Info?  I think that, at the
   very least by default, users should have the same experience wrt such
   code quoting for Info, doc strings, and Emacs-Lisp (doc strings and
   comments).  They should not (at least not by default) see `foobar'
   in a doc string and Emacs-Lisp mode, and ‘foobar’ in Info.

   IOW, a user should be able to make her choice clear wrt such quoting:

   * everywhere, at once (i.e. Info, doc strings, Emacs-Lisp mode)
   * each individual place, separately

3. To repeat myself: I really feel like you are jumping the gun on this
   kind of thing.  We should not offer anything like this, even as a
   choice, unless and until Emacs can deal with it properly (a) in all
   respects: input, search, font-lock,... and (b) everywhere.