Re: PS file in org-mode distribution/auto-mode-alist and `$'

[Carsten Dominik <dominik@science.uva.nl>]

On Jul 15, 2007, at 22:51, Christian Schlauer wrote:

> Hi Carsten, hi list!
>
> I noticed that orgcard_letter is included twice in the
> zip-distribution:
>
> org-5.03/orgcard_letter.pdf
> org-5.03/orgcard_letter.ps
>
> As you distribute only PDF files for the other documentation files, I
> guess you didn't intend to include orgcard_letter.ps.

Yes, thanks.

>
> Another (tiny) thing: in (info "(org)Activation"), you write
>
>      (add-to-list 'auto-mode-alist '("\\.org$" . org-mode))
>
> Long ago, I had noticed that most other authors use \\' instead of $
> in the above line (see for example C-h v auto-mode-alist RET).
> Recently, Stefan Monnier wrote in a posting
> <news:jwvtztg8wjn.fsf-monnier+gnu.emacs.help@gnu.org> the following
> about adding to auto-mode-alist:
>
> ,----
> | The "end of string" mark should be "\\'" rather than "$" (which
> | means "end of line").
> `----

Well, $ means end of line, and if the string being tested
is a single line (as every single file name I have encountered
so far is), the end of the string is the end of a line, by
any reasonable definition.  So while of course you have to
be aware that $ can match somewhere in the middle of a
multiline string, I completely disagree that one should
not use use $ under such circumstances - it is such a nice
and compact way to write things (too many backslashes
in Emacs regular expressions anyway...).

Anyway, as you point out, they do ask for this in the
documentation, so I'll play along.

- Carsten