[pmwiki-users] New definition list functionality

[Pico]

Stirling Westrup wrote:
> Pico wrote:
> 
>> Now the variables on PmWiki/I18nVariables have been escaped (on 6/5/06) 
>> by an unsigned author.  (Who added VarPagesFmt).  That was after your 
>> most recent release, so I don't think it would have been a restore from 
>> your distribution.
>>
> 
> I was probably the last person to edit that page. It should have
> recorded my identity, but I didn't check to see if had or not. I'm not
> sure what you mean by 'escaped' the variables. I put the names in
> @@...@@ markup so that they would be rendered monospaced, as is typical
> for computer documentation, and as I noticed many other document pages do.
> 
Didn't mean to make it sound like a problem, I was just trying to get a 
handle on whether some variables should be treated differently under 
Pm's system for using definition lists on certain pages to create a 
special type of WikiWord link that points back to the definition list.

When I referred to escaping the variable I was referring to the @@ 
markup that you added which, in this case, ended up having an effect 
beyond simply changing the font because it caused the string to no 
longer be recognized as intended by vardoc.php (similar to what might 
happen if you took an item link on the index page of a WikiTrail and 
added some markup that caused the link to be disregarded by the trail).

In the case of vardoc.php's system for defined variable links, PmWiki 
was looking for a certain string pattern in the term portion of 
definition lists, like this:

:$WikiWord:Definition

When the string in the term portion was changed to include anchor markup 
and @@ typewriter font, the resulting string no longer conformed to the 
pattern that PmWiki was looking for (a dollar sign followed by a string 
that conforms to WikiWord conventions).  Since vardoc.php uses such 
strings (when defined in definition lists on pages along the trail 
defined by PmWiki/Variables) to create a special type of WikiWord that 
works even when ordinary WikiWords are disabled, seemingly insignificant 
changes that alter the pattern have the effect of breaking, or escaping, 
the markup so that it is not rendered as a link.

Try it yourself: type some variable strings in sandbox and see how they 
become links that point back to the definition lists (that have no 
explicitly named anchors).

On your own site, add some test strings, like $FooBar in the term 
portion of a definition list on any page along the trail created by 
PmWiki/Variables and the $FooBar string will be rendered as a link back 
to the definition.  Type $FooBar on your SandBox page and it will take 
you back to the definition you created.

Pico