comparison lispref/tips.texi @ 77642:63ebf0b1cf38

(Documentation Tips): Rearrange items to place the more important ones first. Add an index entry for hyperlinks.

77641:01d54caeca94

Don't limit the documentation string to one line; use as many lines as
you need to explain the details of how to use the function or
variable.  Please use complete sentences for the rest of the text too.

@item
The first line should mention all the important arguments of the
function, and should mention them in the order that they are written
in a function call.  If the function has many arguments, then it is
not feasible to mention them all in the first line; in that case, the
first line should mention the first few arguments, including the most
important arguments.

@item
For consistency, phrase the verb in the first sentence of a function's
documentation string as an imperative---for instance, use ``Return the
cons of A and B.'' in preference to ``Returns the cons of A and B@.''
Usually it looks good to do likewise for the rest of the first
paragraph.  Subsequent paragraphs usually look better if each sentence
is indicative and has a proper subject.

@item
Write documentation strings in the active voice, not the passive, and in
the present tense, not the future.  For instance, use ``Return a list
containing A and B.'' instead of ``A list containing A and B will be
returned.''

@item
Avoid using the word ``cause'' (or its equivalents) unnecessarily.
Instead of, ``Cause Emacs to display text in boldface,'' write just
``Display text in boldface.''

@item
When a command is meaningful only in a certain mode or situation,
do mention that in the documentation string.  For example,
the documentation of @code{dired-find-file} is:

@example
In Dired, visit the file or directory named on this line.
@end example

@item
Do not start or end a documentation string with whitespace.

@item
@strong{Do not} indent subsequent lines of a documentation string so
that the text is lined up in the source code with the text of the first
line.  This looks nice in the source code, but looks bizarre when users
view the documentation.  Remember that the indentation before the
starting double-quote is not part of the string!

@item
When the user tries to use a disabled command, Emacs displays just the
first paragraph of its documentation string---everything through the
first blank line.  If you wish, you can choose which information to
include before the first blank line so as to make this display useful.

@item
When you define a variable that users ought to set interactively, you
normally should use @code{defcustom}.  However, if for some reason you
use @code{defvar} instead, start the doc string with a @samp{*}.
@xref{Defining Variables}.

@item
The documentation string for a variable that is a yes-or-no flag should
start with words such as ``Non-nil means,'' to make it clear that
all non-@code{nil} values are equivalent and indicate explicitly what
@code{nil} and non-@code{nil} mean.

@item
The documentation string for a function that is a yes-or-no predicate
should start with words such as ``Return t if,'' to indicate
explicitly what constitutes ``truth.''  The word ``return'' avoids
starting the sentence with lower-case ``t,'' which could be somewhat
distracting.

@item
When a function's documentation string mentions the value of an argument
of the function, use the argument name in capital letters as if it were
a name for that value.  Thus, the documentation string of the function
@code{eval} refers to its second argument as @samp{FORM}, because the
actual argument name is @code{form}:

@example
Evaluate FORM and return its value.
@end example

Also write metasyntactic variables in capital letters, such as when you
show the decomposition of a list or vector into subunits, some of which
may vary.  @samp{KEY} and @samp{VALUE} in the following example
illustrate this practice:

@example
The argument TABLE should be an alist whose elements
have the form (KEY . VALUE).  Here, KEY is ...
@end example

@item
Never change the case of a Lisp symbol when you mention it in a doc
string.  If the symbol's name is @code{foo}, write ``foo,'' not
``Foo'' (which is a different symbol).

This might appear to contradict the policy of writing function
argument values, but there is no real contradiction; the argument
@emph{value} is not the same thing as the @emph{symbol} which the
function uses to hold the value.

If this puts a lower-case letter at the beginning of a sentence
and that annoys you, rewrite the sentence so that the symbol
is not at the start of it.

@item
If a line in a documentation string begins with an open-parenthesis,
write a backslash before the open-parenthesis, like this:

@example
The argument FOO can be either a number
\(a buffer position) or a string (a file name).
@end example

This prevents the open-parenthesis from being treated as the start of a
defun (@pxref{Defuns,, Defuns, emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}).

@anchor{Docstring hyperlinks}
@item
@iftex
When a documentation string refers to a Lisp symbol, write it as it

around it.  For example: @samp{lambda}.  There are two exceptions: write
t and nil without single-quotes.  (In this manual, we use a different
convention, with single-quotes for all symbols.)
@end ifnottex

Help mode automatically creates a hyperlink when a documentation string
uses a symbol name inside single quotes, if the symbol has either a
function or a variable definition.  You do not need to do anything
special to make use of this feature.  However, when a symbol has both a
function definition and a variable definition, and you want to refer to

It is not practical to use @samp{\\[@dots{}]} very many times, because
display of the documentation string will become slow.  So use this to
describe the most important commands in your major mode, and then use
@samp{\\@{@dots{}@}} to display the rest of the mode's keymap.
@end itemize

@node Comment Tips
@section Tips on Writing Comments
@cindex comments, Lisp convention for

77642:63ebf0b1cf38

Don't limit the documentation string to one line; use as many lines as
you need to explain the details of how to use the function or
variable.  Please use complete sentences for the rest of the text too.

@item
When the user tries to use a disabled command, Emacs displays just the
first paragraph of its documentation string---everything through the
first blank line.  If you wish, you can choose which information to
include before the first blank line so as to make this display useful.

@item
The first line should mention all the important arguments of the
function, and should mention them in the order that they are written
in a function call.  If the function has many arguments, then it is
not feasible to mention them all in the first line; in that case, the
first line should mention the first few arguments, including the most
important arguments.

@item
When a function's documentation string mentions the value of an argument
of the function, use the argument name in capital letters as if it were
a name for that value.  Thus, the documentation string of the function
@code{eval} refers to its second argument as @samp{FORM}, because the
actual argument name is @code{form}:

@example
Evaluate FORM and return its value.
@end example

Also write metasyntactic variables in capital letters, such as when you
show the decomposition of a list or vector into subunits, some of which
may vary.  @samp{KEY} and @samp{VALUE} in the following example
illustrate this practice:

@example
The argument TABLE should be an alist whose elements
have the form (KEY . VALUE).  Here, KEY is ...
@end example

@item
Never change the case of a Lisp symbol when you mention it in a doc
string.  If the symbol's name is @code{foo}, write ``foo,'' not
``Foo'' (which is a different symbol).

This might appear to contradict the policy of writing function
argument values, but there is no real contradiction; the argument
@emph{value} is not the same thing as the @emph{symbol} which the
function uses to hold the value.

If this puts a lower-case letter at the beginning of a sentence
and that annoys you, rewrite the sentence so that the symbol
is not at the start of it.

@item
Do not start or end a documentation string with whitespace.

@item
@strong{Do not} indent subsequent lines of a documentation string so
that the text is lined up in the source code with the text of the first
line.  This looks nice in the source code, but looks bizarre when users
view the documentation.  Remember that the indentation before the
starting double-quote is not part of the string!

@anchor{Docstring hyperlinks}
@item
@iftex
When a documentation string refers to a Lisp symbol, write it as it

around it.  For example: @samp{lambda}.  There are two exceptions: write
t and nil without single-quotes.  (In this manual, we use a different
convention, with single-quotes for all symbols.)
@end ifnottex

@cindex hyperlinks in documentation strings
Help mode automatically creates a hyperlink when a documentation string
uses a symbol name inside single quotes, if the symbol has either a
function or a variable definition.  You do not need to do anything
special to make use of this feature.  However, when a symbol has both a
function definition and a variable definition, and you want to refer to

It is not practical to use @samp{\\[@dots{}]} very many times, because
display of the documentation string will become slow.  So use this to
describe the most important commands in your major mode, and then use
@samp{\\@{@dots{}@}} to display the rest of the mode's keymap.

@item
For consistency, phrase the verb in the first sentence of a function's
documentation string as an imperative---for instance, use ``Return the
cons of A and B.'' in preference to ``Returns the cons of A and B@.''
Usually it looks good to do likewise for the rest of the first
paragraph.  Subsequent paragraphs usually look better if each sentence
is indicative and has a proper subject.

@item
The documentation string for a function that is a yes-or-no predicate
should start with words such as ``Return t if,'' to indicate
explicitly what constitutes ``truth.''  The word ``return'' avoids
starting the sentence with lower-case ``t,'' which could be somewhat
distracting.

@item
If a line in a documentation string begins with an open-parenthesis,
write a backslash before the open-parenthesis, like this:

@example
The argument FOO can be either a number
\(a buffer position) or a string (a file name).
@end example

This prevents the open-parenthesis from being treated as the start of a
defun (@pxref{Defuns,, Defuns, emacs, The GNU Emacs Manual}).

@item
Write documentation strings in the active voice, not the passive, and in
the present tense, not the future.  For instance, use ``Return a list
containing A and B.'' instead of ``A list containing A and B will be
returned.''

@item
Avoid using the word ``cause'' (or its equivalents) unnecessarily.
Instead of, ``Cause Emacs to display text in boldface,'' write just
``Display text in boldface.''

@item
When a command is meaningful only in a certain mode or situation,
do mention that in the documentation string.  For example,
the documentation of @code{dired-find-file} is:

@example
In Dired, visit the file or directory named on this line.
@end example

@item
When you define a variable that users ought to set interactively, you
normally should use @code{defcustom}.  However, if for some reason you
use @code{defvar} instead, start the doc string with a @samp{*}.
@xref{Defining Variables}.

@item
The documentation string for a variable that is a yes-or-no flag should
start with words such as ``Non-nil means,'' to make it clear that
all non-@code{nil} values are equivalent and indicate explicitly what
@code{nil} and non-@code{nil} mean.
@end itemize

@node Comment Tips
@section Tips on Writing Comments
@cindex comments, Lisp convention for