R devel - Jan 2004 - \link{\url{anything}} gives Rdconv trouble (PR#6496)

Full_Name: David Firth
Version: 1.8.0
OS: Mac OS 10.2.8
Submission from: (NULL) (80.177.12.48)


In .Rd files, we use \url{stuff} to refer to a URL on the web.  Just as the
documentation says.

Perhaps this isn't a bug, then, but certainly it's a trap for the
unwary.  If
the construction
   \link{url{something}}
appears in a .Rd file, then 
   Rdconv --type=html ...
gets stuck and appears to grow and grow and grow...

My version of Perl is 5.6.0.

A warning in the documentation might be considered a fix for this, although it
might reasonably be regarded as going too far in warning people against their
own stupidity!  

Would it be better if it caused an error?  I have no idea what would be involved
in trapping that, and obviously if it's not a simple matter then this is one
for
the trashcan.

David

It is easy to trap, so I have done so.

You were just slightly impatient: it would have given an error eventually!

There's a problem that the allowed complexity has to be very high for 
certain operations (mark_brackets for one) since you can write very 
complex files.  The same code is used for \url{}, which cannot be complex.
If we ever rewrite Rdconv ....

Brian

On Wed, 28 Jan 2004 d.firth@warwick.ac.uk wrote:
> Full_Name: David Firth
> Version: 1.8.0
> OS: Mac OS 10.2.8
> Submission from: (NULL) (80.177.12.48)
> 
> 
> In .Rd files, we use \url{stuff} to refer to a URL on the web.  Just as the
> documentation says.
> 
> Perhaps this isn't a bug, then, but certainly it's a trap for the
unwary.  If
> the construction
>    \link{url{something}}
> appears in a .Rd file, then 
>    Rdconv --type=html ...
> gets stuck and appears to grow and grow and grow...
> 
> My version of Perl is 5.6.0.
> 
> A warning in the documentation might be considered a fix for this, although
it
> might reasonably be regarded as going too far in warning people against
their
> own stupidity!  
> 
> Would it be better if it caused an error?  I have no idea what would be
involved
> in trapping that, and obviously if it's not a simple matter then this
is one for
> the trashcan.
> 
> David
> 
> ______________________________________________
> R-devel@stat.math.ethz.ch mailing list
> https://www.stat.math.ethz.ch/mailman/listinfo/r-devel
> 
> 
-- 
Brian D. Ripley,                  ripley@stats.ox.ac.uk
Professor of Applied Statistics,  http://www.stats.ox.ac.uk/~ripley/
University of Oxford,             Tel:  +44 1865 272861 (self)
1 South Parks Road,                     +44 1865 272866 (PA)
Oxford OX1 3TG, UK                Fax:  +44 1865 272595