diff lispref/tips.texi @ 25751:467b88fab665

*** empty log message ***

--- a/lispref/tips.texi	Fri Sep 17 06:53:20 1999 +0000
+++ b/lispref/tips.texi	Fri Sep 17 06:59:04 1999 +0000
@@ -14,6 +14,12 @@
 previous chapters, and describes conventions Emacs Lisp programmers
 should follow.
 
+  You can automatically check some of the conventions described below by
+running the command @kbd{M-x checkdoc RET} when visiting a Lisp file.
+It cannot check all of the conventions, and not all the warnings it
+gives necessarily correspond to problems, but it is worth examining them
+all.
+
 @menu
 * Coding Conventions::        Conventions for clean and robust programs.
 * Compilation Tips::          Making compiled code run fast.
@@ -287,6 +293,17 @@
 Try to avoid compiler warnings about undefined free variables, by adding
 @code{defvar} definitions for these variables.
 
+Sometimes adding a @code{require} for another package is useful to avoid
+compilation warnings for variables and functions defined in that
+package.  If you do this, often it is better if the @cpde{require} acts
+only at compile time.  Here's how to do that:
+
+@example
+(eval-when-compile
+  (require 'foo)
+  (defvar bar-baz))
+@end example
+
 If you bind a variable in one function, and use it or set it in another
 function, the compiler warns about the latter function unless the
 variable has a definition.  But often these variables have short names,
@@ -421,12 +438,12 @@
 that looks good.
 
 @item
-For consistency, phrase the verb in the first sentence of a
-function's documentation string as an infinitive with ``to'' omitted.  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 they have proper subjects.
+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
+has a proper subject.
 
 @item
 Write documentation strings in the active voice, not the passive, and in
@@ -485,9 +502,15 @@
 @code{/} refers to its second argument as @samp{DIVISOR}, because the
 actual argument name is @code{divisor}.
 
-Also use all caps for meta-syntactic variables, such as when you show
+Also use all caps for metasyntactic variables, such as when you show
 the decomposition of a list or vector into subunits, some of which may
-vary.
+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
 @iftex
@@ -537,6 +560,14 @@
 does not make a hyperlink to the documentation, irrelevant here, of the
 function @code{list}.
 
+To make a hyperlink to Info documentation, write the name of the Info
+node in single quotes, preceded by @samp{info node} or @samp{Info
+node}.  The Info file name defaults to @samp{emacs}.  For example,
+
+@smallexample
+See Info node `Font Lock' and Info node `(elisp)Font Lock Basics'.
+@end smallexample
+
 @item
 Don't write key sequences directly in documentation strings.  Instead,
 use the @samp{\\[@dots{}]} construct to stand for them.  For example,
@@ -659,7 +690,21 @@
 
   Emacs has conventions for using special comments in Lisp libraries
 to divide them into sections and give information such as who wrote
-them.  This section explains these conventions.  First, an example:
+them.  This section explains these conventions.
+
+  We'll start with an example, a package that is included in the Emacs
+distribution.
+
+  Parts of this example reflect its status as part of Emacs; for
+example, the copyright notice lists the Free Software Foundation as the
+copyright holder, and the copying permission says the file is part of
+Emacs.  When you write a package and post it, the copyright holder would
+be you (unless your employer claims to own it instead), and you should
+get the suggested copying permission from the end of the GNU General
+Public License itself.  Don't say your file is part of Emacs
+if we haven't installed it in Emacs yet!
+
+  With that warning out of the way, on to the example:
 
 @smallexample
 @group
@@ -773,7 +818,8 @@
 store the change history there).  For most of the Lisp
 files distributed with Emacs, the change history is kept in the file
 @file{ChangeLog} and not in the source file at all; these files do
-not have a @samp{;;; Change Log:} line.
+not have a @samp{;;; Change Log:} line.  @samp{History} is an
+alternative to @samp{Change Log}.
 
 @item ;;; Code:
 This begins the actual code of the program.