Re: Lojban word processor for Windows?

[mark@kli.org]

>From: David Brookshire Conner <nellardo@concentric.net>
>Date: Fri, 17 Sep 1999 11:44:28 -0400 (EDT)
>Cc: lojban@onelist.com
>
>From: David Brookshire Conner <nellardo@concentric.net>
>
>[ 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