Usages Messages
- To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
- Subject: [mg94806] Usages Messages
- From: "David Park" <djmpark at comcast.net>
- Date: Fri, 26 Dec 2008 05:41:33 -0500 (EST)
Now that we are at Version 7, there are probably ways to improve the entire usage message mechanism. I don't see why a usage message is compelled to be a String. If 'Everything is an Expression' then why can't a usage message be an expression? Maybe usage messages should be decoupled from the general Messages mechanism. Then a developer could write any kind of expressions, including Panel expressions for usage message. Another thing that could be decoupled from the usage message is the completion template. If a function has parameters that are encapsulated in SubValues then the present completion template picks up only the SubValues portion. It would be nice if the developer had an independent method to define completion templates and maybe even allow for various forms of the same function. Usage messages are extremely useful but they have gotten caught up and tangled in the evolution of Mathematica so that in trying to do too much they end up doing too little. David Park djmpark at comcast.net <http://home.comcast.net/~djmpark> http://home.comcast.net/~djmpark/