Re: show palette palette <n> savergb

[Hans-Bernhard B. <br...@ph...>]

On Wed, 12 Nov 2003, Petr Mikulik wrote:

> Now, I have it working that way.

Congratulations and thanks for that.

> However, I wonder about the documentation syntax above. Yes, there are some
> commands with help written as
> 	set xxxxx {
> 			{ opt 1 | opt2 }
> 			{ opt3 | opt5 }
> 		}
> 
> but is this somewhere documented that {{bla1 | bla2}} means something
> an additional option, instead of a compulsory of {bla1 bla2}? I don't see
> it -- from 'help':
> 
>  In this document, curly braces ({}) denote optional arguments and a
>  vertical bar (|) separates mutually exclusive choices.  
[...]

Let's put it like this:  there has to be _some_ way to distinguish between
"either a or b" and "either a or b or nothing" in the Syntax description.
We need some kind of braces around the series of alternatives separated by
| to have proper grouping, which means that {a|b} should really mean
"either a or b".  So "either a or b or nothing" has to be expressed in
some other way.  Using the existing meaning of "{}" as "optional
argument", {{a|b}} does have that meaning.  As does {|a|b}.


> Looking to help of some commands, it does not seem very unified. 

Well, the docs has been written by many people over a long time, and it's
pretty hard to get all the fine print right.  So I wouldn't put too much
weight in examples from it.  

> It would be worth if someone goes through gnuplot.doc and makes it all
> right.

Right.  But who has all that time and determination?

-- 
Hans-Bernhard Broeker (br...@ph...)
Even if all the snow were burnt, ashes would remain.