Re: Bug: :noexport: tag prevents table functioning as babel code block input [7.7 (release_7.7.167.gfceb)]

["András Major" <andras.g.major@gmail.com>]

Hi Tom,

> > To me, the documentation is the leading specification of a piece of
> > software.  Anything the software doesn't do that is in the docs is a
> > bug, but likewise anything it does do which the docs don't cover is
> > also a bug.
> 
> Aloha Andras,
> 
> As an avocational programmer who has had the pleasure of making small
> changes to the Org-mode manual and on-line documentation, this last bit
> seems to raise the bar impractically high.  Part of Org-mode's appeal to
> me is that people frequently find new, and at least to me unexpected,
> ways to use it productively.  I find it interesting to see how best to
> change the documentation to incorporate the new "discovery."  That said,
> the idea that the docs cover *everything* that Org-mode is capable of
> doing is wonderful and I'll be happy to chip in when I can to help you
> achieve that goal.

I fully agree with you, but it looks like I didn't express my point
clearly enough.  I'm talking about very particular behaviour when, for
instance, a certain keyword is encountered.  The example in this bug
report is a good illustration: if the tag :noexport: is only supposed
to work in headlines, then I consider it a bug if it works elsewhere,
so the developers must actually make sure that this never happens.

Otherwise, an unsuspecting new user (like myself) reads the
documentation, and accidentally tries the tag on something other than
what's in the documentation.  "Hooray, it works, and what a great
piece of software this is" -- but that doesn't last long since a newer
version of org-mode behaves differently and his undocumented and
unintended "feature" no longer works.  As a software user (in this
case), I want to have a clear idea of what works and what doesn't, and
if I try something and it works, I suppose it to be an official way of
doing it.  Had I not filed this bug report, I might have carried on
using :noexport: on tables until, one day, suddenly all my documents
break because this "feature" silently goes away.

By saying that a "feature" must work if and only if it is so
documented I refer to individual features (such as keywords, tags,
keystrokes, etc.), not use cases.

  András