From mboxrd@z Thu Jan  1 00:00:00 1970
From: Robert Horn <rjhorn@alum.mit.edu>
Subject: Re: are super-hidden technical blocks required?
Date: Tue, 07 Aug 2012 10:30:39 -0400
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To: Torsten Wagner <torsten.wagner@gmail.com>, orgmode@grierwhite.com
Cc: emacs-orgmode@gnu.org

Separating out the issue of how to hide and expose the content, why not
use s-expressions for the hidden content?  Org is built on a lisp engine
and these will fit nicely into automation.  It avoids a lot of parsing
and other headaches, and an s-expression can hold any of the discussed information.

It could be an a-list that is designed for the purpose, or it could be a
list structured like the custom configuration list used in emacs config.
I think of the latter when considering the potential to steal code for
using the contents, updating the contents, and providing a user
interface when that is needed.  It also provides a model for sharing the
list among independent groups of developers with overlapping interests.
It permits automatically generated comments, advice, and warnings for
those who look at it, much like you find when looking over the tail end
of a .emacs file.

The property construction could then be a simple 
:HIDDEN-ALIST-PROPERTIES: (( stuff ........))

It would be very unreadable and unfriendly to the novice, but that is
already a characteristic of the data being discussed.

R Horn
rjhorn@alum.mit.edu