Concatenate properties

Concatenate properties

[Tyler Grinn]

I'm exporting sub-trees as pdf files for some classes I'm taking:

# -*- org-use-property-inheritance: t; -*-

* Class A
  :PROPERTIES:
  :EXPORT_FILE_NAME: support/Class A
  :END:
** Assignment 1
   :PROPERTIES:
   :EXPORT_FILE_NAME+: /assignment-1
   :END:
   Some assignment for Class A
** Assignment 2
   :PROPERTIES:
   :EXPORT_FILE_NAME+: /assignment-2
   :END:
   Some other assignment for Class A
* Class B
  :PROPERTIES
  :EXPORT_FILE_NAME: support/Class B
  :END:
** Assignment 1
   :PROPERTIES:
   :EXPORT_FILE_NAME+: /assignment-1
   :END:
   Some assignment for Class B
** Assignment 2
   :PROPERTIES:
   :EXPORT_FILE_NAME+: /assignment-2
   :END:
   Some other assignment for Class B
   
And this works great, except there's always a space between
'support/Class A' and '/assignment-1.pdf'. Is there any way to
concatenate the two properties rather than join them with spaces?

Best,

Tyler

Re: Concatenate properties

[John Kitchin]

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I believe this is hard coded in org-entry-get-with-inheritance. The fastest
option would be an override advice with your own function that
replaces (and value " ") with (and value ""), and maybe the two other " "
with "".

John

-----------------------------------
Professor John Kitchin (he/him/his)
Doherty Hall A207F
Department of Chemical Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
412-268-7803
@johnkitchin
http://kitchingroup.cheme.cmu.edu



On Thu, May 5, 2022 at 6:38 PM Tyler Grinn <tylergrinn@gmail.com> wrote:

>
> I'm exporting sub-trees as pdf files for some classes I'm taking:
>
> # -*- org-use-property-inheritance: t; -*-
>
> * Class A
>   :PROPERTIES:
>   :EXPORT_FILE_NAME: support/Class A
>   :END:
> ** Assignment 1
>    :PROPERTIES:
>    :EXPORT_FILE_NAME+: /assignment-1
>    :END:
>    Some assignment for Class A
> ** Assignment 2
>    :PROPERTIES:
>    :EXPORT_FILE_NAME+: /assignment-2
>    :END:
>    Some other assignment for Class A
> * Class B
>   :PROPERTIES
>   :EXPORT_FILE_NAME: support/Class B
>   :END:
> ** Assignment 1
>    :PROPERTIES:
>    :EXPORT_FILE_NAME+: /assignment-1
>    :END:
>    Some assignment for Class B
> ** Assignment 2
>    :PROPERTIES:
>    :EXPORT_FILE_NAME+: /assignment-2
>    :END:
>    Some other assignment for Class B
>
> And this works great, except there's always a space between
> 'support/Class A' and '/assignment-1.pdf'. Is there any way to
> concatenate the two properties rather than join them with spaces?
>
> Best,
>
> Tyler
>
>

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Re: Concatenate properties

[Tyler Grinn]

John Kitchin <jkitchin@andrew.cmu.edu> writes:

> I believe this is hard coded in org-entry-get-with-inheritance. The
> fastest option would be an override advice with your own function that
> replaces (and value " ") with (and value ""), and maybe the two other
> " "  with "".
>  
> John
>
> -----------------------------------
> Professor John Kitchin (he/him/his)
> Doherty Hall A207F
> Department of Chemical Engineering
> Carnegie Mellon University
> Pittsburgh, PA 15213
> 412-268-7803
> @johnkitchin
> http://kitchingroup.cheme.cmu.edu
>

Thanks for the advice. I've added the caret symbol (:EXPORT_FILE_NAME^:
assignment-1) to mean 'concatenate' as opposed to + for 'joining'. If
this is something the community would want I will clean it up and send
in a patch.

Re: Concatenate properties

[Ihor Radchenko]

Tyler Grinn <tylergrinn@gmail.com> writes:

> Thanks for the advice. I've added the caret symbol (:EXPORT_FILE_NAME^:
> assignment-1) to mean 'concatenate' as opposed to + for 'joining'. If
> this is something the community would want I will clean it up and send
> in a patch.

Hmm. I am not sure if it going to be a straightforward patch. You may
need to update org-element parser accordingly.

Also, I do not like the idea of extending org syntax with :PROPERTY^:.
It may be easier to introduce a variable similar to
org-use-property-inheritance where the user can customise how to
accumulate parent properties.

Best,
Ihor

Re: Concatenate properties

[John Kitchin]

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I like the variable idea. I would make it a concatenation string for
joining. That way “” would concatenate the way Tyler wants, “ “ would
preserve current behavior, and “,” could lead to a comma separated list for
example. Other things like “\n” might lead to a column, etc.

On Sat, May 7, 2022 at 1:32 AM Ihor Radchenko <yantar92@gmail.com> wrote:

> Tyler Grinn <tylergrinn@gmail.com> writes:
>
> > Thanks for the advice. I've added the caret symbol (:EXPORT_FILE_NAME^:
> > assignment-1) to mean 'concatenate' as opposed to + for 'joining'. If
> > this is something the community would want I will clean it up and send
> > in a patch.
>
> Hmm. I am not sure if it going to be a straightforward patch. You may
> need to update org-element parser accordingly.
>
> Also, I do not like the idea of extending org syntax with :PROPERTY^:.
> It may be easier to introduce a variable similar to
> org-use-property-inheritance where the user can customise how to
> accumulate parent properties.
>
> Best,
> Ihor
>
-- 
John

-----------------------------------
Professor John Kitchin (he/him/his)
Doherty Hall A207F
Department of Chemical Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
412-268-7803
@johnkitchin
http://kitchingroup.cheme.cmu.edu

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Re: Concatenate properties

[Tyler Grinn]

John Kitchin <jkitchin@andrew.cmu.edu> writes:

> I like the variable idea. I would make it a concatenation string for
> joining. That way “” would concatenate the way Tyler wants, “ “ would
> preserve current behavior, and “,” could lead to a comma separated
> list for example. Other things like “\n” might lead to a column, etc. 

I'm not a huge fan of the variable idea because it would make it
impossible to include both behaviors in a single file, whereas extending
the syntax maintains any existing properties that used '+'.

Re: Concatenate properties

[Ihor Radchenko]

Tyler Grinn <tylergrinn@gmail.com> writes:

> John Kitchin <jkitchin@andrew.cmu.edu> writes:
>
>> I like the variable idea. I would make it a concatenation string for
>> joining. That way “” would concatenate the way Tyler wants, “ “ would
>> preserve current behavior, and “,” could lead to a comma separated
>> list for example. Other things like “\n” might lead to a column, etc. 
>
> I'm not a huge fan of the variable idea because it would make it
> impossible to include both behaviors in a single file, whereas extending
> the syntax maintains any existing properties that used '+'.

I think I need to elaborate what I meant by "similar to
org-use-property-inheritance".

org-use-property-inheritance docstring:

>>> When nil, only the properties directly given in the current entry
>>> count. When t, every property is inherited. The value may also be a
>>> list of properties that should have inheritance, or a regular
>>> expression matching properties that should be inherited.

Similarly, concatenation of PROPERTY+ can be controlled on per-property
basis.

Best,
Ihor

Re: Concatenate properties

[Tyler Grinn]

Ihor Radchenko <yantar92@gmail.com> writes:

> Tyler Grinn <tylergrinn@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> John Kitchin <jkitchin@andrew.cmu.edu> writes:
>>
>>> I like the variable idea. I would make it a concatenation string for
>>> joining. That way “” would concatenate the way Tyler wants, “ “ would
>>> preserve current behavior, and “,” could lead to a comma separated
>>> list for example. Other things like “\n” might lead to a column, etc. 
>>
>> I'm not a huge fan of the variable idea because it would make it
>> impossible to include both behaviors in a single file, whereas extending
>> the syntax maintains any existing properties that used '+'.
>
> I think I need to elaborate what I meant by "similar to
> org-use-property-inheritance".
>
> org-use-property-inheritance docstring:
>
>>>> When nil, only the properties directly given in the current entry
>>>> count. When t, every property is inherited. The value may also be a
>>>> list of properties that should have inheritance, or a regular
>>>> expression matching properties that should be inherited.
>
> Similarly, concatenation of PROPERTY+ can be controlled on per-property
> basis.
>
> Best,
> Ihor

Could you provide an example of what the value of that variable would be
if, for instance, I wanted PROP_A and PROP_B to be joined with a single
space and PROP_C and PROP_D to be concatenated? Or better yet, have the
default be to join with a single space for any property and have only
PROP_C and PROP_D concatenated?

Re: Concatenate properties

[Ihor Radchenko]

Tyler Grinn <tylergrinn@gmail.com> writes:

>
> Could you provide an example of what the value of that variable would be
> if, for instance, I wanted PROP_A and PROP_B to be joined with a single
> space and PROP_C and PROP_D to be concatenated? Or better yet, have the
> default be to join with a single space for any property and have only
> PROP_C and PROP_D concatenated?

Say,

'(("PROP_[CD]" . ""))

or

'(("PROP_[AB]" . "/") ("PROP_[CD]" . "") (".+" . "∿"))

Best,
Ihor

Re: Concatenate properties

[Tyler Grinn]

Ihor Radchenko <yantar92@gmail.com> writes:

> Tyler Grinn <tylergrinn@gmail.com> writes:
>
>>
>> Could you provide an example of what the value of that variable would be
>> if, for instance, I wanted PROP_A and PROP_B to be joined with a single
>> space and PROP_C and PROP_D to be concatenated? Or better yet, have the
>> default be to join with a single space for any property and have only
>> PROP_C and PROP_D concatenated?
>
> Say,
>
> '(("PROP_[CD]" . ""))
>
> or
>
> '(("PROP_[AB]" . "/") ("PROP_[CD]" . "") (".+" . "∿"))
>
> Best,
> Ihor

I'm not sure forcing regular expressions for all use cases is ideal. Is
there a way to allow the option (I'm calling it org-property-separators)
to allow either regular expressions or exact matches, like
org-use-property-inheritance does?

Other than that I'm mostly ready to send in my first patch. Should I
attach it in this thread or start a new one?

Best,

Tyler

Re: Concatenate properties

[Ihor Radchenko]

Tyler Grinn <tylergrinn@gmail.com> writes:

> Ihor Radchenko <yantar92@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> Tyler Grinn <tylergrinn@gmail.com> writes:
>>
>>>
>>> Could you provide an example of what the value of that variable would be
>>> if, for instance, I wanted PROP_A and PROP_B to be joined with a single
>>> space and PROP_C and PROP_D to be concatenated? Or better yet, have the
>>> default be to join with a single space for any property and have only
>>> PROP_C and PROP_D concatenated?
>>
>> Say,
>>
>> '(("PROP_[CD]" . ""))
>>
>> or
>>
>> '(("PROP_[AB]" . "/") ("PROP_[CD]" . "") (".+" . "∿"))
>>
>> Best,
>> Ihor
>
> I'm not sure forcing regular expressions for all use cases is ideal. Is
> there a way to allow the option (I'm calling it org-property-separators)
> to allow either regular expressions or exact matches, like
> org-use-property-inheritance does?

It's up to you. I merely suggested that the new option should work
similarly to org-use-property-inheritance. It will not be the exact
match since we also need to provide the separator string.

> Other than that I'm mostly ready to send in my first patch. Should I
> attach it in this thread or start a new one?

Keeping the patch within this thread will be more reasonable for future
readers. Just remember to prefix the subject line with [PATCH].

Best,
Ihor

[PATCH] Re: Concatenate properties

[Tyler Grinn]

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Ihor Radchenko <yantar92@gmail.com> writes:

> Tyler Grinn <tylergrinn@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> Ihor Radchenko <yantar92@gmail.com> writes:
>>
>>> Tyler Grinn <tylergrinn@gmail.com> writes:
>>>
>>>>
>>>> Could you provide an example of what the value of that variable would be
>>>> if, for instance, I wanted PROP_A and PROP_B to be joined with a single
>>>> space and PROP_C and PROP_D to be concatenated? Or better yet, have the
>>>> default be to join with a single space for any property and have only
>>>> PROP_C and PROP_D concatenated?
>>>
>>> Say,
>>>
>>> '(("PROP_[CD]" . ""))
>>>
>>> or
>>>
>>> '(("PROP_[AB]" . "/") ("PROP_[CD]" . "") (".+" . "∿"))
>>>
>>> Best,
>>> Ihor
>>
>> I'm not sure forcing regular expressions for all use cases is ideal. Is
>> there a way to allow the option (I'm calling it org-property-separators)
>> to allow either regular expressions or exact matches, like
>> org-use-property-inheritance does?
>
> It's up to you. I merely suggested that the new option should work
> similarly to org-use-property-inheritance. It will not be the exact
> match since we also need to provide the separator string.
>
>> Other than that I'm mostly ready to send in my first patch. Should I
>> attach it in this thread or start a new one?
>
> Keeping the patch within this thread will be more reasonable for future
> readers. Just remember to prefix the subject line with [PATCH].
>
> Best,
> Ihor

OK, what I have now is that if the car of an alist item is a list, exact
matching will be done for each list item, but if it is a string, it will
be matched as a regular expression.

Best,

Tyler


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From c23b45dd5d0bc5a049b916a4b4003c6f55ce4b51 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Tyler Grinn <tylergrinn@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 9 May 2022 15:52:58 -0400
Subject: [PATCH] lisp/org.el: Add org-property-separators option

* lisp/org.el (org-property-separators, org-property-get-separator):
Created.
(org-entry-get, org-entry-get-with-inheritance): Use new
org-property-get-separator function.

* testing/lisp/test-org.el (test-org/entry-get): Added tests for
combining properties with custom separators

org-property-separators is a customization option that allows for
properties to be combined using a separator other than the default (a
single space).  It is an alist with the car of each element being a
list of property names or regular expression and the cdr being the
separator string, like '((("EXPORT_FILE_NAME") . "/")).
---
 etc/ORG-NEWS             | 21 ++++++++++++++++++++
 lisp/org.el              | 43 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++--------
 testing/lisp/test-org.el | 30 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++-
 3 files changed, 85 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)

diff --git a/etc/ORG-NEWS b/etc/ORG-NEWS
index 27de6da62..0297a9d49 100644
--- a/etc/ORG-NEWS
+++ b/etc/ORG-NEWS
@@ -141,6 +141,27 @@ discouraged when working with Org files.
 
 ** New features
 
+*** New customization option =org-property-separators=
+A new alist variable to control how properties are combined.
+
+If a property is specified multiple times with a =+=, like
+=:EXPORT_FILE_NAME+:=, the old behavior was to always combine them
+with a single space. For the new variable, the car of each item in the
+alist should be either a list of property names or a regular
+expression, while the cdr should be the separator to use when
+combining that property.
+
+The default value for the separator is a single space, if none of the
+provided items in the alist match a given property.
+
+For example, in order to combine =EXPORT_FILE_NAME= properties with a
+forward slash =/=, one can use
+
+#+begin_src emacs-lisp
+(setq org-use-property-inheritance '("EXPORT_FILE_NAME")
+      org-property-separators '((("EXPORT_FILE_NAME") . "/")))
+#+end_src
+
 *** New library =org-persist.el= implements variable persistence across Emacs sessions
 
 The library stores variable data in ~org-persist-directory~ (set to XDG
diff --git a/lisp/org.el b/lisp/org.el
index cab59b87c..a53505752 100644
--- a/lisp/org.el
+++ b/lisp/org.el
@@ -2850,6 +2850,30 @@ in this variable)."
     (member-ignore-case property org-use-property-inheritance))
    (t (error "Invalid setting of `org-use-property-inheritance'"))))
 
+(defcustom org-property-separators nil
+  "An alist to control how properties are combined.
+
+The car of each item should be either a list of property names or
+a regular expression, while the cdr should be the separator to
+use when combining that property.
+
+If an alist item cannot be found that matches a given property, a
+single space will be used as the separator."
+  :group 'org-properties
+  :type '(alist :key-type string :value-type sexp))
+
+(defun org-property-get-separator (property)
+  "Get the separator to use for combining PROPERTY."
+  (or
+   (catch 'separator
+     (dolist (spec org-property-separators)
+       (if (listp (car spec))
+           (if (member property (car spec))
+               (throw 'separator (cdr spec)))
+         (if (string-match-p (car spec) property)
+             (throw 'separator (cdr spec))))))
+   " "))
+
 (defcustom org-columns-default-format "%25ITEM %TODO %3PRIORITY %TAGS"
   "The default column format, if no other format has been defined.
 This variable can be set on the per-file basis by inserting a line
@@ -12355,7 +12379,9 @@ value higher up the hierarchy."
       (org-entry-get-with-inheritance property literal-nil))
      (t
       (let* ((local (org--property-local-values property literal-nil))
-	     (value (and local (mapconcat #'identity (delq nil local) " "))))
+	     (value (and local (mapconcat #'identity
+                                          (delq nil local)
+                                          (org-property-get-separator property)))))
 	(if literal-nil value (org-not-nil value)))))))
 
 (defun org-property-or-variable-value (var &optional inherit)
@@ -12464,7 +12490,8 @@ However, if LITERAL-NIL is set, return the string value \"nil\" instead."
      (catch 'exit
        (let ((element (or element
                           (and (org-element--cache-active-p)
-                               (org-element-at-point nil 'cached)))))
+                               (org-element-at-point nil 'cached))))
+             (separator (org-property-get-separator property)))
          (if element
              (let ((element (org-element-lineage element '(headline org-data inlinetask) 'with-self)))
                (while t
@@ -12472,8 +12499,8 @@ However, if LITERAL-NIL is set, return the string value \"nil\" instead."
                         (v (if (listp v) v (list v))))
                    (when v
                      (setq value
-                           (concat (mapconcat #'identity (delq nil v) " ")
-                                   (and value " ")
+                           (concat (mapconcat #'identity (delq nil v) separator)
+                                   (and value separator)
                                    value)))
                    (cond
 	            ((car v)
@@ -12484,15 +12511,15 @@ However, if LITERAL-NIL is set, return the string value \"nil\" instead."
 	            (t
 	             (let ((global (org--property-global-or-keyword-value property literal-nil)))
 	               (cond ((not global))
-		             (value (setq value (concat global " " value)))
+		             (value (setq value (concat global separator value)))
 		             (t (setq value global))))
 	             (throw 'exit nil))))))
            (while t
 	     (let ((v (org--property-local-values property literal-nil)))
 	       (when v
 	         (setq value
-		       (concat (mapconcat #'identity (delq nil v) " ")
-			       (and value " ")
+		       (concat (mapconcat #'identity (delq nil v) separator)
+			       (and value separator)
 			       value)))
 	       (cond
 	        ((car v)
@@ -12513,7 +12540,7 @@ However, if LITERAL-NIL is set, return the string value \"nil\" instead."
 	        (t
 	         (let ((global (org--property-global-or-keyword-value property literal-nil)))
 	           (cond ((not global))
-		         (value (setq value (concat global " " value)))
+		         (value (setq value (concat global separator value)))
 		         (t (setq value global))))
 	         (throw 'exit nil))))))))
      (if literal-nil value (org-not-nil value)))))
diff --git a/testing/lisp/test-org.el b/testing/lisp/test-org.el
index 0cee31d4e..c0c13f586 100644
--- a/testing/lisp/test-org.el
+++ b/testing/lisp/test-org.el
@@ -5997,7 +5997,35 @@ Paragraph<point>"
 	  (org-test-with-temp-text
 	      ":PROPERTIES:\n:A: 0\n:END:\n#+PROPERTY: A 1\n* H\n:PROPERTIES:\n:A+: 2\n:END:"
 	    (org-mode-restart)
-	    (org-entry-get (point-max) "A" t)))))
+	    (org-entry-get (point-max) "A" t))))
+  ;; Use alternate separators
+  (should
+   (equal "0~2"
+          (org-test-with-temp-text
+           ":PROPERTIES:\n:A: 0\n:A+: 2\n:END:"
+           (let ((org-property-separators '((("A") . "~"))))
+             (org-entry-get (point) "A")))))
+  ;; Default separator is single space
+  (should
+   (equal "0 2"
+          (org-test-with-temp-text
+           ":PROPERTIES:\n:A: 0\n:B: 1\n:A+: 2\n:B+: 3\n:END:"
+           (let ((org-property-separators '((("B") . "~"))))
+             (org-entry-get (point) "A")))))
+  ;; Regular expression matching for separator
+  (should
+   (equal "0/2"
+          (org-test-with-temp-text
+           ":PROPERTIES:\n:A: 0\n:A+: 2\n:END:"
+           (let ((org-property-separators '((("B") . "~") ("[AC]" . "/"))))
+             (org-entry-get (point) "A")))))
+  ;; Separator works with inheritance
+  (should
+   (equal "1~2"
+          (org-test-with-temp-text
+           "* H\n:PROPERTIES:\n:A: 1\n:END:\n** H2\n:PROPERTIES:\n:A+: 2\n:END:"
+           (let ((org-property-separators '((("A") . "~"))))
+             (org-entry-get (point-max) "A" t))))))
 
 (ert-deftest test-org/entry-properties ()
   "Test `org-entry-properties' specifications."
-- 
2.35.3

Re: [PATCH] Re: Concatenate properties

[Ihor Radchenko]

Tyler Grinn <tylergrinn@gmail.com> writes:

> OK, what I have now is that if the car of an alist item is a list, exact
> matching will be done for each list item, but if it is a string, it will
> be matched as a regular expression.

Sounds reasonable.

Note that your patch is >15LOC long and you need to sign the copyright
agreement with FSF in order to contribute. See
https://orgmode.org/worg/org-contribute.html#copyright

Some comments on the patch:

> * lisp/org.el (org-property-separators, org-property-get-separator):
> Created.

I'd make the function private: org--property-get-separator. It is not
intended as an API function.

> (org-entry-get, org-entry-get-with-inheritance): Use new
> org-property-get-separator function.

> org-property-separators is a customization option that allows for

Please quote the function name as `org-property-get-separator'.

> +If a property is specified multiple times with a =+=, like
> +=:EXPORT_FILE_NAME+:=, the old behavior was to always combine them
> +with a single space. For the new variable, the car of each item in
> the

Please, use double space "  " to separate sentences. Also, see
doc/Documentation_Standards.org

> +For example, in order to combine =EXPORT_FILE_NAME= properties with a
> +forward slash =/=, one can use
> +
> +#+begin_src emacs-lisp
> +(setq org-use-property-inheritance '("EXPORT_FILE_NAME")
> +      org-property-separators '((("EXPORT_FILE_NAME") . "/")))
> +#+end_src

This example is a bit confusing because it is unclear what you want to
achieve and why you also need to set inheritance.

> +(defcustom org-property-separators nil
> ...
> +  :group 'org-properties
> +  :type '(alist :key-type string :value-type sexp))

This defcustom type does not match what you described in the docstring.
You need something like :type '(alist :key-type (choice string (repeat string)) :value-type string)

Best,
Ihor

Re: [PATCH] Re: Concatenate properties

[Tyler Grinn]

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Ihor Radchenko <yantar92@gmail.com> writes:

> Note that your patch is >15LOC long and you need to sign the copyright
> agreement with FSF in order to contribute. See
> https://orgmode.org/worg/org-contribute.html#copyright

I've already submitted a copyright assignment to the FSF in order to
publish on ELPA. Do I need one specific to org-mode?

> Some comments on the patch:
>
>> * lisp/org.el (org-property-separators, org-property-get-separator):
>> Created.
>
> I'd make the function private: org--property-get-separator. It is not
> intended as an API function.

I agree, that was an oversight.

>
>> (org-entry-get, org-entry-get-with-inheritance): Use new
>> org-property-get-separator function.
>
>> org-property-separators is a customization option that allows for
>
> Please quote the function name as `org-property-get-separator'.
>

No problem.

>> +If a property is specified multiple times with a =+=, like
>> +=:EXPORT_FILE_NAME+:=, the old behavior was to always combine them
>> +with a single space. For the new variable, the car of each item in
>> the
>
> Please, use double space "  " to separate sentences. Also, see
> doc/Documentation_Standards.org

No problem.

>
>> +For example, in order to combine =EXPORT_FILE_NAME= properties with a
>> +forward slash =/=, one can use
>> +
>> +#+begin_src emacs-lisp
>> +(setq org-use-property-inheritance '("EXPORT_FILE_NAME")
>> +      org-property-separators '((("EXPORT_FILE_NAME") . "/")))
>> +#+end_src
>
> This example is a bit confusing because it is unclear what you want to
> achieve and why you also need to set inheritance.

Inheritance is the most likely scenario one would need to use the '+'
property syntax, but I do agree it's kinda distracting and not
absolutely necessary in order to get the correct behavior.

>
>> +(defcustom org-property-separators nil
>> ...
>> +  :group 'org-properties
>> +  :type '(alist :key-type string :value-type sexp))
>
> This defcustom type does not match what you described in the docstring.
> You need something like :type '(alist :key-type (choice string (repeat string)) :value-type string)
>
> Best,
> Ihor

Setting ':value-type string' is confusing, in my opinion, because the
default single space looks like:   in the customization buffer, which is
indistinguishable from no space: . I just found out about the restricted-sexp
type, which I think makes the customization buffer more user-friendly.


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From f474cb25840fdc6b24618b1452cb7fdd32545092 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Tyler Grinn <tylergrinn@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, 9 May 2022 15:52:58 -0400
Subject: [PATCH] lisp/org.el: Add org-property-separators option

* lisp/org.el (org-property-separators, org-property-get-separator):
Created.
(org-entry-get, org-entry-get-with-inheritance): Use new
`org-property-get-separator' function.

* testing/lisp/test-org.el (test-org/entry-get): Added tests for
combining properties with custom separators

`org-property-separators' is a customization option that allows for
properties to be combined using a separator other than the default (a
single space).  It is an alist with the car of each element being a
list of property names or regular expression and the cdr being the
separator string, like '((("EXPORT_FILE_NAME") . "/")).
---
 etc/ORG-NEWS             | 31 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 lisp/org.el              | 47 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++-------
 testing/lisp/test-org.el | 30 ++++++++++++++++++++++++-
 3 files changed, 99 insertions(+), 9 deletions(-)

diff --git a/etc/ORG-NEWS b/etc/ORG-NEWS
index 27de6da62..9d1d2cdcf 100644
--- a/etc/ORG-NEWS
+++ b/etc/ORG-NEWS
@@ -141,6 +141,37 @@ discouraged when working with Org files.
 
 ** New features
 
+*** New customization option =org-property-separators=
+A new alist variable to control how properties are combined.
+
+If a property is specified multiple times with a =+=, like
+
+#+begin_src org
+:PROPERTIES:
+:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: some/path
+:EXPORT_FILE_NAME+: to/file
+:END:
+#+end_src
+
+the old behavior was to always combine them with a single space
+(=some/path to/file=).  For the new variable, the car of each item in
+the alist should be either a list of property names or a regular
+expression, while the cdr should be the separator to use when
+combining that property.
+
+The default value for the separator is a single space, if none of the
+provided items in the alist match a given property.
+
+For example, in order to combine =EXPORT_FILE_NAME= properties with a
+forward slash =/=, one can use
+
+#+begin_src emacs-lisp
+(setq org-property-separators '((("EXPORT_FILE_NAME") . "/")))
+#+end_src
+
+The example above would then produce the property value
+=some/path/to/file=.
+
 *** New library =org-persist.el= implements variable persistence across Emacs sessions
 
 The library stores variable data in ~org-persist-directory~ (set to XDG
diff --git a/lisp/org.el b/lisp/org.el
index cab59b87c..643fd6b73 100644
--- a/lisp/org.el
+++ b/lisp/org.el
@@ -2850,6 +2850,34 @@ in this variable)."
     (member-ignore-case property org-use-property-inheritance))
    (t (error "Invalid setting of `org-use-property-inheritance'"))))
 
+(defcustom org-property-separators nil
+  "An alist to control how properties are combined.
+
+The car of each item should be either a list of property names or
+a regular expression, while the cdr should be the separator to
+use when combining that property.
+
+If an alist item cannot be found that matches a given property, a
+single space will be used as the separator."
+  :group 'org-properties
+  :type '(alist :key-type (choice (repeat :tag "Properties" string)
+                                  (string :tag "Regular Expression"))
+                :value-type (restricted-sexp :tag "Separator"
+                                             :match-alternatives (stringp)
+                                             :value " ")))
+
+(defun org--property-get-separator (property)
+  "Get the separator to use for combining PROPERTY."
+  (or
+   (catch 'separator
+     (dolist (spec org-property-separators)
+       (if (listp (car spec))
+           (if (member property (car spec))
+               (throw 'separator (cdr spec)))
+         (if (string-match-p (car spec) property)
+             (throw 'separator (cdr spec))))))
+   " "))
+
 (defcustom org-columns-default-format "%25ITEM %TODO %3PRIORITY %TAGS"
   "The default column format, if no other format has been defined.
 This variable can be set on the per-file basis by inserting a line
@@ -12355,7 +12383,9 @@ value higher up the hierarchy."
       (org-entry-get-with-inheritance property literal-nil))
      (t
       (let* ((local (org--property-local-values property literal-nil))
-	     (value (and local (mapconcat #'identity (delq nil local) " "))))
+	     (value (and local (mapconcat #'identity
+                                          (delq nil local)
+                                          (org--property-get-separator property)))))
 	(if literal-nil value (org-not-nil value)))))))
 
 (defun org-property-or-variable-value (var &optional inherit)
@@ -12464,7 +12494,8 @@ However, if LITERAL-NIL is set, return the string value \"nil\" instead."
      (catch 'exit
        (let ((element (or element
                           (and (org-element--cache-active-p)
-                               (org-element-at-point nil 'cached)))))
+                               (org-element-at-point nil 'cached))))
+             (separator (org--property-get-separator property)))
          (if element
              (let ((element (org-element-lineage element '(headline org-data inlinetask) 'with-self)))
                (while t
@@ -12472,8 +12503,8 @@ However, if LITERAL-NIL is set, return the string value \"nil\" instead."
                         (v (if (listp v) v (list v))))
                    (when v
                      (setq value
-                           (concat (mapconcat #'identity (delq nil v) " ")
-                                   (and value " ")
+                           (concat (mapconcat #'identity (delq nil v) separator)
+                                   (and value separator)
                                    value)))
                    (cond
 	            ((car v)
@@ -12484,15 +12515,15 @@ However, if LITERAL-NIL is set, return the string value \"nil\" instead."
 	            (t
 	             (let ((global (org--property-global-or-keyword-value property literal-nil)))
 	               (cond ((not global))
-		             (value (setq value (concat global " " value)))
+		             (value (setq value (concat global separator value)))
 		             (t (setq value global))))
 	             (throw 'exit nil))))))
            (while t
 	     (let ((v (org--property-local-values property literal-nil)))
 	       (when v
 	         (setq value
-		       (concat (mapconcat #'identity (delq nil v) " ")
-			       (and value " ")
+		       (concat (mapconcat #'identity (delq nil v) separator)
+			       (and value separator)
 			       value)))
 	       (cond
 	        ((car v)
@@ -12513,7 +12544,7 @@ However, if LITERAL-NIL is set, return the string value \"nil\" instead."
 	        (t
 	         (let ((global (org--property-global-or-keyword-value property literal-nil)))
 	           (cond ((not global))
-		         (value (setq value (concat global " " value)))
+		         (value (setq value (concat global separator value)))
 		         (t (setq value global))))
 	         (throw 'exit nil))))))))
      (if literal-nil value (org-not-nil value)))))
diff --git a/testing/lisp/test-org.el b/testing/lisp/test-org.el
index 0cee31d4e..c0c13f586 100644
--- a/testing/lisp/test-org.el
+++ b/testing/lisp/test-org.el
@@ -5997,7 +5997,35 @@ Paragraph<point>"
 	  (org-test-with-temp-text
 	      ":PROPERTIES:\n:A: 0\n:END:\n#+PROPERTY: A 1\n* H\n:PROPERTIES:\n:A+: 2\n:END:"
 	    (org-mode-restart)
-	    (org-entry-get (point-max) "A" t)))))
+	    (org-entry-get (point-max) "A" t))))
+  ;; Use alternate separators
+  (should
+   (equal "0~2"
+          (org-test-with-temp-text
+           ":PROPERTIES:\n:A: 0\n:A+: 2\n:END:"
+           (let ((org-property-separators '((("A") . "~"))))
+             (org-entry-get (point) "A")))))
+  ;; Default separator is single space
+  (should
+   (equal "0 2"
+          (org-test-with-temp-text
+           ":PROPERTIES:\n:A: 0\n:B: 1\n:A+: 2\n:B+: 3\n:END:"
+           (let ((org-property-separators '((("B") . "~"))))
+             (org-entry-get (point) "A")))))
+  ;; Regular expression matching for separator
+  (should
+   (equal "0/2"
+          (org-test-with-temp-text
+           ":PROPERTIES:\n:A: 0\n:A+: 2\n:END:"
+           (let ((org-property-separators '((("B") . "~") ("[AC]" . "/"))))
+             (org-entry-get (point) "A")))))
+  ;; Separator works with inheritance
+  (should
+   (equal "1~2"
+          (org-test-with-temp-text
+           "* H\n:PROPERTIES:\n:A: 1\n:END:\n** H2\n:PROPERTIES:\n:A+: 2\n:END:"
+           (let ((org-property-separators '((("A") . "~"))))
+             (org-entry-get (point-max) "A" t))))))
 
 (ert-deftest test-org/entry-properties ()
   "Test `org-entry-properties' specifications."
-- 
2.35.3

Re: [PATCH] Re: Concatenate properties

[Ihor Radchenko]

Tyler Grinn <tylergrinn@gmail.com> writes:

> Ihor Radchenko <yantar92@gmail.com> writes:
>
>> Note that your patch is >15LOC long and you need to sign the copyright
>> agreement with FSF in order to contribute. See
>> https://orgmode.org/worg/org-contribute.html#copyright
>
> I've already submitted a copyright assignment to the FSF in order to
> publish on ELPA. Do I need one specific to org-mode?

Nope. The ELPA one is good enough. Basically, Org has the same
requirement as Emacs (Org is a part of Emacs).

>>> +(defcustom org-property-separators nil
>>> ...
>>> +  :group 'org-properties
>>> +  :type '(alist :key-type string :value-type sexp))
>>
>> This defcustom type does not match what you described in the docstring.
>> You need something like :type '(alist :key-type (choice string (repeat string)) :value-type string)
>
> Setting ':value-type string' is confusing, in my opinion, because the
> default single space looks like:   in the customization buffer, which is
> indistinguishable from no space: . I just found out about the restricted-sexp
> type, which I think makes the customization buffer more user-friendly.

restricted-sexp is fine. Though you could also do something like
(choice (const :tag "Single space" " ") (string :tag "Other string"))

> From f474cb25840fdc6b24618b1452cb7fdd32545092 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
> From: Tyler Grinn <tylergrinn@gmail.com>
> Date: Mon, 9 May 2022 15:52:58 -0400
> Subject: [PATCH] lisp/org.el: Add org-property-separators option

LGTM!

I will leave this for another week to give other people a chance to
comment.

For reference, this patch might be useful in https://orgmode.org/list/87o821dv7o.fsf@localhost

Best,
Ihor

Re: [PATCH] Re: Concatenate properties

[Tyler Grinn]

Ihor Radchenko <yantar92@gmail.com> writes:

>> From f474cb25840fdc6b24618b1452cb7fdd32545092 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
>> From: Tyler Grinn <tylergrinn@gmail.com>
>> Date: Mon, 9 May 2022 15:52:58 -0400
>> Subject: [PATCH] lisp/org.el: Add org-property-separators option
>
> LGTM!
>
> I will leave this for another week to give other people a chance to
> comment.
>
> For reference, this patch might be useful in https://orgmode.org/list/87o821dv7o.fsf@localhost
>
> Best,
> Ihor

Great; it's exciting to have my first patch accepted and I look forward
to future development.

Best,

Tyler

Re: [PATCH] Re: Concatenate properties

[Ihor Radchenko]

Ihor Radchenko <yantar92@gmail.com> writes:

> I will leave this for another week to give other people a chance to
> comment.

Applied upstream onto main via e268e4797.

Best,
Ihor

Re: Concatenate properties

[John Kitchin]

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Where did you add that?

John

-----------------------------------
Professor John Kitchin (he/him/his)
Doherty Hall A207F
Department of Chemical Engineering
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
412-268-7803
@johnkitchin
http://kitchingroup.cheme.cmu.edu



On Fri, May 6, 2022 at 11:40 AM Tyler Grinn <tylergrinn@gmail.com> wrote:

> John Kitchin <jkitchin@andrew.cmu.edu> writes:
>
> > I believe this is hard coded in org-entry-get-with-inheritance. The
> > fastest option would be an override advice with your own function that
> > replaces (and value " ") with (and value ""), and maybe the two other
> > " "  with "".
> >
> > John
> >
> > -----------------------------------
> > Professor John Kitchin (he/him/his)
> > Doherty Hall A207F
> > Department of Chemical Engineering
> > Carnegie Mellon University
> > Pittsburgh, PA 15213
> > 412-268-7803
> > @johnkitchin
> > http://kitchingroup.cheme.cmu.edu
> >
>
> Thanks for the advice. I've added the caret symbol (:EXPORT_FILE_NAME^:
> assignment-1) to mean 'concatenate' as opposed to + for 'joining'. If
> this is something the community would want I will clean it up and send
> in a patch.
>

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Re: Concatenate properties

[Tyler Grinn]

John Kitchin <jkitchin@andrew.cmu.edu> writes:

> Where did you add that?
>
> John
>
> -----------------------------------
> Professor John Kitchin (he/him/his)
> Doherty Hall A207F
> Department of Chemical Engineering
> Carnegie Mellon University
> Pittsburgh, PA 15213
> 412-268-7803
> @johnkitchin
> http://kitchingroup.cheme.cmu.edu
>
> On Fri, May 6, 2022 at 11:40 AM Tyler Grinn <tylergrinn@gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>     Thanks for the advice. I've added the caret symbol
>     (:EXPORT_FILE_NAME^:
>     assignment-1) to mean 'concatenate' as opposed to + for 'joining'.
>     If
>     this is something the community would want I will clean it up and
>     send
>     in a patch.

I modified 'org--property-local-values' to return a cons list with the
car being the value of the property and the cdr being either 'concat or
'join.

        ;; Find additional values.
        (let* ((property-extension (org-re-property
                                    (concat (regexp-quote property)
                                            "[+^]")
                                    t t)))
          (while (re-search-forward property-extension end t)
            (push (cons (match-string-no-properties 3)
                        (if (string-match-p "\\^\\'" (match-string-no-properties 2))
                            'concat
                          'join))
                  value)))

    I used a single re-search in order to maintain the ordering of
    properties, ie:
    
        :PROP: he
        :PROP^: llo
        :PROP+: world
    
    produces 'hello world'

I then updated both 'org-entry-get' and
'org-entry-get-with-inheritance' to 'cl-reduce' the cons list into the
final string value.