From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 From: Samuel Wales Subject: Feature request: IDs on anything Date: Thu, 5 Mar 2009 18:28:39 -0700 Message-ID: <20524da70903051728m4005f584p6b7b247e3b29936e@mail.gmail.com> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Return-path: Received: from mailman by lists.gnu.org with tmda-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1LfOri-0003ph-Ra for emacs-orgmode@gnu.org; Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:28:42 -0500 Received: from exim by lists.gnu.org with spam-scanned (Exim 4.43) id 1LfOrh-0003pR-8c for emacs-orgmode@gnu.org; Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:28:41 -0500 Received: from [199.232.76.173] (port=54772 helo=monty-python.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.43) id 1LfOrh-0003pO-5s for emacs-orgmode@gnu.org; Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:28:41 -0500 Received: from an-out-0708.google.com ([209.85.132.240]:54695) by monty-python.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.60) (envelope-from ) id 1LfOrg-0007lm-NB for emacs-orgmode@gnu.org; Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:28:40 -0500 Received: by an-out-0708.google.com with SMTP id b6so149502ana.21 for ; Thu, 05 Mar 2009 17:28:39 -0800 (PST) List-Id: "General discussions about Org-mode." List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Sender: emacs-orgmode-bounces+geo-emacs-orgmode=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Errors-To: emacs-orgmode-bounces+geo-emacs-orgmode=m.gmane.org@gnu.org To: emacs-orgmode@gnu.org Now seems like an ideal time to post this. I have been thinking that it would be useful to be able to slap org IDs on anything. This includes plain list items, table cells, and specific words in long sections of text.[1] Links to these markers will never be broken and will go to their exact locations. I am calling them =ID markers=. The syntax looks like this.[2] $[id B7423F4D-2E8A-471B-8810-C40F074717E9] Here is an example: - this is a plain list - example $[id B7423F4D-2E8A-471B-8810-C40F074717E9] - the above can safely be linked to You can label markers to make them prettier: $[id B7423F4D-2E8A-471B-8810-C40F074717E9 :label "foo"] this is a marker labeled "foo" (similarly to how links are labeled). $[id B7423F4D-2E8A-471B-8810-C40F074717E9 :label ""] now the marker is invisible unless you set links to be visible or go to and edit the marker.[3] A key aspect of this feature is that it is extensible[2] in various[4] ways. I have more notes, including applications, but also want to gauge interest in the basic idea. Is this appealing? Footnotes: [1] This might also work for Charles Cave's thread, "My Python solution [...]", which seeks IDs or the equivalent in headlines. ID markers should work in non-org files (provided that org is told about their existence via a user variable). Thus, you can safely link to source code. [2] This syntax is motivated in a thread on the org mailing list ( [http://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22extensible+syntax%22+%22parsing+risk%22+%22samuel+wales%22&btnG=Search] ) named "extensible syntax". Some benefits: 1. You can add /new/ org features. - This is done by reserving a new first element. - For example, the keyword for the ID marker feature is "id". - If you want to add a new org feature for, say, changing the color of a region of text, you would use the keyword "color". - You can do this with no new lexing code or syntax debugging. 2. You can extend /existing/ features. - This is done with a keyword argument (plist key). - For example, ID markers accept a :label keyword. - To make the label be different in the exported text, the key would be :export-label. - To turn an ID marker into a link, the key would be :link and its argument would be the link itself. - I will motivate this and its applications in another thread. It enables the user to create arbitrary graph-theoretic structures, including bidirectional links and tours through a table, by pointing ID markers to one another. More later. - No new lexing code or syntax debugging is necessary. A bonus: in principle, the facility can be opened up to the users, who can then experiment with new features in their .emacs files (without modifying org code) then spring them on the rest of us. :) However, this is not essential to the idea. [3] I am not sure, but it is possible that running M-x visible-mode would also work. Or perhaps a standard org command could do it. [4] For example, to make the label be different in the exported text, it could look like this: $[id B7423F4D-2E8A-471B-8810-C40F074717E9 :label "foo" :export-label "bar"] the exported version is labeled "bar", while your source is still nicely labeled "foo". $[id B7423F4D-2E8A-471B-8810-C40F074717E9 :label "foo" :export-label ""] now it is invisible when exported. but it can still be pointed to. Or to make it easy to remember ID markers with a short number: $[id B7423F4D-2E8A-471B-8810-C40F074717E9 :label :file-unique] this is a marker labeled with a small, automatically generated number that is only guaranteed to be unique for the current file. My point in this footnote isn't that these are needed subfeatures, but that with extensible syntax we can do this kind of thing. -- Myalgic encephalomyelitis denialism is causing death (decades early; Jason et al. 2006) and severe suffering (worse than nearly all other diseases studied; e.g. Schweitzer et al. 1995) and *grossly* corrupting science. http://www.meactionuk.org.uk/What_Is_ME_What_Is_CFS.htm