Re: [proof of concept] inline language blocks

["Juan Manuel Macías" <maciaschain@posteo.net>]

Ihor Radchenko writes:

> Juan Manuel Macías <maciaschain@posteo.net> writes:
>
>> I'm dedicating a local branch to developing this proof of concept and
>> testing it in my workflow, so far with good results. The basic idea is
>> to provide Org with multilingual features and various methods for
>> selecting languages.
>>
>> The inline-language-block is intended for small segments of text in a
>> language other than the main language. They can span several lines but
>> not more than a paragraph. They can be used for in-line textual quotes,
>> glosses, etc. They are constructions equivalent to, for example, LaTeX
>> \foreignlanguage{french}{text} or HTML <span lang=fr>text</span>.
>>
>> I have thought of a syntax that is as least intrusive as possible, so as
>> not to make reading uncomfortable. I have tried the following:
>>
>> :fr{some text in French} :it{some text in Italian} :la{some text in Latin}
>>
>> You can also use a literal term instead of a language code:
>>
>> :klingon!{some text in Klingon}
>>
>> The blocks can be nested:
>>
>> :klingon!{Some text in Klingon with :it{some text in Italian}}
>>
>> And they may include other elements:
>>
>> :el{Some text in Greek with a {{{macro}}} and a [[link]]}
>
> This is a good idea, although it would be better to make this new markup
> element within the framework of more general inline special block we
> discussed in the past: https://list.orgmode.org/orgmode/87a6b8pbhg.fsf@posteo.net/

Fun fact: the local branch is called inline-special-block, because I
originally had that idea in mind when I created it. Then, halfway
through, I doubted whether it wouldn't be better to have a specific
inline language selector, whose use would be as direct as an emphasis
mark. So in the branch there is also a "proto"-inline-special-block with
similar syntax: &foo{}.

I opted for the -language-block version because, as I said, its use is
very 'direct' and covers a common need to segment multilingual text
within the paragraph.

I think at the time we also discussed whether or not it would be a good
idea to provide the inline special blocks with options and attributes,
like their older brothers. And how to do it. My biggest concern here is
the (let's say) latexification of the paragraph. I mean, one of the
great things about Org versus heavier markup like LaTeX is that when org
wants to be verbose it uses dedicated lines, but usually keeps the
paragraphs clean and readable. I think that any element inside the
paragraph should tend to be as "transparent" as simple emphasis marks.

I remember that there was also discussion about puting the options
outside the paragraph, using some type of identifier. It doesn't seem
like a bad idea to me, but I think it adds an extra complication for the
user. It would be very tedious for me to write like this (even more
tedious than writing in LaTeX).

Best regards,

-- 
Juan Manuel Macías