[GAP Forum] *A *F *V *T *E

[Thomas Breuer]

Dear GAP Forum,

Allan Adler wrote

> As I mentioned in my posting, "standards for documenting gap source code",
> there are some emacs commands at the end of some of the source files of
> Gap 3. Their effect is to allow the person reading the file the option
> of only reading certain lines highlighted with one the incipits listed
> in the subject line of this message. Here is the code below. I posted
> to gnu.emacs.help and learned about how this works. What I don't know
> is what Martin Schoenert used these incipits *A *F *V *T *E to signify.
> Each presumably tells something about the line it begins in the source code.
> If you know what each means, please let me know. Thanks.
> 
> /***************************************************
> *E  Emacs ................... local emacs variables
> **
> **  Local Variables:
> **  mode: outline
> **  outline-regexp: "*A\\|*F\\|*V\\|*T\\|*E"
> **  fill-column: 73
> **  fill-prefix: "**  "
> **  eval: (local-set-key "\t" 'c-indent-command')
> **  eval: (local-set-key ";" 'electric-c-semi)
> **  eval: (local-set-key "{" 'electric-c-brace)
> **  eval: (local-set-key "}" 'electric-c-brace)
> **  eval: (hide-body)
> **  End:
> */

The abovementioned incipits occur in lines showing definitions of variables.
A, F, and V stand for attribute, (plain) function, and global variable (not
being a function).
T is common for ``To do'' comments
but apparently is used also for some type objects in the C files.

In GAP library files, the analogous incipits #A, #F, #V, #T occur,
and additionally #P, #O, #C, #R, and #M,
see section ``Manual Conventions'' in the GAP Reference Manual.

Concerning the *E (and #E) incipits,
I do NOT recommend to put formatting instructions for Emacs
(or for any other editor) into data files:
Eventually it is a matter of personal taste how one wants to look at a file,
so not the file should control the editor
but the editor configuration should contains such rules.

Whenever I change a GAP file and notice that such Emacs instructions
are contained, I throw them out.
Probably this should be done consistently before the next release of GAP.

All the best,
Thomas