From mark@kli.org Fri Sep 17 14:10:41 1999 X-Digest-Num: 236 Message-ID: <44114.236.1285.959273825@eGroups.com> Date: 17 Sep 1999 21:10:41 -0000 From: mark@kli.org Subject: Re: Lojban word processor for Windows? >From: David Brookshire Conner >Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 11:44:28 -0400 (EDT) >Cc: lojban@onelist.com > >From: David Brookshire Conner > >[ this is the text editor thread] >mark@kli.org writes: > > I *like* that idea. I guess I'm surprised I didn't already write a major > > mode in emacs. Then again, I also have to keep reminding myself what > > people are looking for. I still expect word-processors to be just really > > really good typewriter/typesetter machines, not popping up templates, > > word-completions (unless you ask), stuff like that. But I'll wager that > > just an as-you-type cmene-checker would get a workout! > >Oh yeah - there will be some people that want an emacs mode just for >the chuckle value - "Look! I can get Zippy to talk Lojban! Now let's >psychoanalyze it!" (Emacs arcana - if you don't get it, don't worry.) Hee... Considering people STILL screw up cmene construction, I know it will be useful. Ask Lojbab what a pain in the nether regions I was about knocking down people's faulty cmene. > > >An initial Framemaker extension would consist simply of a document > > >template with lots of smart "paragraph" styles (with each "paragraph" > > >in Framemaker being a lojban bridi). For example: > > > > > >StartUtterance - first sentence, following "paragraph" is > > >ContinueUtterance - "autonumbered" to start with ".i " > > >StartParagraph - autostarts with .ni'o, next para is > > > continueUtterance. > > >etc. formatting makes all this look pretty. > > > Maybe indents for .i? > >My first try on this (since writing the email earlier today) assumes >each bridi has it's own "paragraph". The first bridi in a .ni'o >paragraph has no automatic text, and is a "run-in" heading, which >means the next para starts on the same line this one finishes on. You >use a new .ni'o style for a .ni'o paragraph, which starts on its own >line. The ".ni'o" is inserted automatically, and the ".ni'o" hangs >into the left margin, which makes paragraphs easy to spot. It's also >consistent with ".ni'oni'o" and such. > >So text looks like this: > > mi vecnu ta la djan. .i la djan. mi i vecnu .i mi tavla la > meris. > >.ni'o la lojban. melbi mi > >.ni'o la zo'is. melbi mi .i la zo'is. mi melbi vecnu vau I've started these days doing stuff more like: ni'o le broda cu brode .i mi brode le'i brodo gi'e brodi .ije do .iu se panci ni'o mi do citka i.e. line-break after the ni'o, no line-breaks between jufra, but whitespace between paragraphs (i.e. before ni'o, but not after). See http://www.kli.org/kli/langs/KLIlojban.html for an example. Indentation helps in reading, but I'm starting to think it may be unwieldy in practice. Lots of major-league hanging indents (and worse, nesting) mean a lot of wasted space. >It might be nice to automatically decorate the .ni'o and the .i (e.g., >in bold, or a slightly larger font, or something) to make them a >little more obvious. Of course, a lojban font would handle this (see >the other thread). Note that in Courier-ish fonts, {.i} is pretty marked already. That period helps. > > > > or give the breakdown > > > > of a legal but undefined lujvo with a different mouse click. > > > > > >and a database of the rafsi.... > > > > YES. For building and reading. > >Sure - tab completion! This *is* emacs we're talking about! You bet. > > And one of cmavo? > >Yep. If it is syntax-aware, of course, it should only suggest legal >cmavo for wherever point is. And with tab-completion again. Oooh, clever. ~mark