On Wed, Jul 16, 2003 at 05:03:25AM -0400, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > Richard Robinson wrote - > > >abc2win introduced constructs, out of the blue, > >that the abc->ps family have never _been_ able to read. > > I really wish I understood this hate campaign against abc2win.
If I'm running a "campaign" for anything, it's in favour of arriving at a situation where people don't have to spend dozens of hours retyping other peoples' abc to make it fit their software. It seems to me the best way to get this would be a clear statement of sensible ways that software is expected to work (ie a standard), together with software that behaves as described. Both at once. I have already owned up to bad-temper over this issue (I can't see that it's big enough for "hatred") and, I think, explained why - the mismatch between a lot of abc and the software that I use has cost me dozens of hours I could have spent having more fun. Ideally, I'd like this to go away. My point, in context, in the bit you snipped, was that suggesting the possibility of such a situation arising isn't a very convincing argument for, or against, whatver it was that was being discussed, since the situation already does exist. > >features that are not implemented in ABC applications cannot be considered > part > >of the standard. > > which seems to imply that the standard follows the software, not the > other way round. I'd suggest that the most constructive way would be both moving together, and converging. > Will somebody please explain to me how abc2win was conflicting with abc2ps > and the standard when neither existed when it was first released? Beg your pardon. I was mentally including abc2mtex in the "abc->ps family" > looks as if Jim introduced ! as a line break long before the introduction of the > !....! construct, why is this his fault? > > Was there any attempt at cooperation in those early days or was it enmity at > first sight? Personally, I've been mentioning incompatabilities for as long as I've been encountering them; which is as long as there's been more than one piece of software. It was possible to write lots of things that would pass abc2mtex and not abc2ps, and vice versa. -- Richard Robinson "The whole plan hinged upon the natural curiosity of potatoes" - S. Lem To subscribe/unsubscribe, point your browser to: http://www.tullochgorm.com/lists.html
