Re: Line breaks in @file{} entries?

[Jean-Charles Malahieude]

Le 26/11/2010 23:18, Carl Sorensen disait :
> On 11/26/10 2:41 PM, "Trevor Daniels" wrote:
> > Carl Sorensen wrote Friday, November 26, 2010 6:43 PM
> > > On 11/26/10 10:51 AM, "Valentin Villenave"
> > > <address@hidden>  wrote:
> >
> > > > Er, are you suggesting that
> > > > @file{this/is/a/very/long/path/towards/myfile.scm} should be
> > > > printed without a line break?
> >
> > > I am suggesting this.  I would much prefer to keep file paths on
> > > one line as long as they fit.
> >
> > Yes, /as long as they fit/, but fit into what?
>
> I think the proposed 50 character limit is probably reasonable.
>
> > > > > Hhm. Not sure. I think I'd prefer "more than three dashes or
> > > > > slashes", if we are to do it that way, but really it depends
> > > > > more on the total length of the name rather than the number
> > > > > of dashes and slashes. I'd prefer "if the name is longer than
> > > > > 50 characters (say)". And if the name is too long then I'd
> > > > > prefer to place a single optional break near to the middle,
> > > > > so we don't get tiny fragments at the end or start of lines.
> > > >
> > > > Both suggestions seem reasonable and easy enough to achieve.
> > > > (50 chars are really long, though.)
> >
> > > But a file name really *is* a single piece of information, so it
> > > should be kept on one line.  If it's so long it won't fit on one
> > > line, then we should decide where to break it, rather than having
> > > it be done automatically at any slash.
> >
> > Ideally, yes.  But who is going to look manually through all the
> > docs?  Better to do it automatically first, then fix up any that
> > stand out as poor when we notice them. Otherwise we might have some
> > names running over the right margin in 2.14.  Don't forget we've
> > now lost the ones that were done manually before - and some of them
> > /were/ correct.
>
> I don't think we disagree here.  It appeared to me that Valentin was
> thinking that 50 characters was too long.   I am arguing that 50
> characters is an appropriate maximum length.  A typical optimum line
> length appears to be 55-75 characters, so 50 characters is most of a
> line.  I'd totally agree with breaking file names that are too long.
> What automatic breaking algorithm would you propose for file names
> longer than 50 characters?  The slash closest to the center?
>
> Thanks,

Just one comment:

Don't forget that @file{how-do-you-feel-I-am-so-so} might not begin
on the same column with every translated version of the documentation.
I would therefore appreciate to have some consistency in the "splitting
allowance", or to let it dealt by translators.

Cheers,
Jean-Charles