GNU bug report logs - #65288
30.0.50; Make Type: annotation optional in *Help* buffers

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From: Eli Zaretskii <eliz <at> gnu.org>
To: Visuwesh <visuweshm <at> gmail.com>, Andrea Corallo <acorallo <at> gnu.org>
Cc: 65288 <at> debbugs.gnu.org, philipk <at> posteo.net
Subject: bug#65288: 30.0.50; Make Type: annotation optional in *Help* buffers
Date: Sat, 19 Aug 2023 11:28:37 +0300

> Cc: 65288 <at> debbugs.gnu.org
> From: Visuwesh <visuweshm <at> gmail.com>
> Date: Mon, 14 Aug 2023 20:47:31 +0530
> 
> [திங்கள் ஆகஸ்ட் 14, 2023] Philip Kaludercic wrote:
> 
> > Visuwesh <visuweshm <at> gmail.com> writes:
> >
> >> Can a user option be added to not show the "Type:" annotation in *Help*
> >> buffers for certain functions?  An example is `char-after'
> >>
> >>     char-after is a built-in function in ‘src/editfns.c’.
> >>
> >>     (char-after &optional POS) Type: (function (&optional (or marker
> >>     integer)) (or null (integer -2305843009213693952
> >>     2305843009213693951)))
> >>
> >>     Return character in current buffer at position POS.
> >>     POS is an integer or a marker and defaults to point.
> >>     If POS is out of range, the value is nil.
> >>
> >> If not a user option, can it be moved after the docstring?
> >
> > Only functions have types, these are not the same types those given to
> > user options.
> 
> There's no confusion about user option type and function argument type
> but this info crowds the second line which only contained the function
> signature before.  Other extra info are at the bottom of the buffer so
> moving it there would be more consistent too.
> 
> > That being said, I agree that in cases like `char-after' the information
> > of a very specific type like that one is limited.  I don't know if there
> > is a sensible heuristic to reformat the type into something like
> >
> >   (function (&optional position) (or position null))
> >
> > using some kind of type aliasing, but it might be better to not
> > highlight the information so prominently?

Andrea, would it make sense to introduce an option which could disable
showing this information in *Help*?

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