Re: What should Python apps do when asked to show help?

From	Grant Edwards <grant.b.edwards@gmail.com>
Newsgroups	comp.lang.python
Subject	Re: What should Python apps do when asked to show help?
Date	2016-05-01 13:53 +0000
Message-ID	<mailman.283.1462110832.32212.python-list@python.org> (permalink)
References	<1462074388.273747.594588777.5E705539@webmail.messagingengine.com> <20160501052434.GA98660@cskk.homeip.net> <CAPTjJmr5E8zGB6Q0WWaja1DkZqac0SVm2X5eXOvYvd4YE3vZCg@mail.gmail.com> <ng51p3$c81$1@ger.gmane.org>

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On 2016-05-01, Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> wrote:
> On Sun, May 1, 2016 at 3:24 PM,  <cs@zip.com.au> wrote:
>> Yes, PAGER=cat would make "man" also not page, and likely almost everything.
>> And yet I am unwilling to do so. Why?
>>
>> On reflection, my personal problems with this approach are twofold:
>>
>> - I want $PAGER to specify my preferred pager when I do want a pager, so
>> setting it to "cat" does not inform apps about my wishes
>
> So you expect the environment variable to say which of multiple pagers
> you might want, but only when you already want a pager.

Yes!

Just like EDITOR specifies which editor to use _when_ _you_ _want_
_to_ _use_ _an_ _editor_.  It doesn't tell programs to invoke an
editor all the time.

> Okay. How is an app supposed to know whether or not to use a pager?

Command line option.

> How do you expect them to mindread?

Nope, just recognize '-p' or somesuch.

-- 
Grant

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Re: What should Python apps do when asked to show help? Grant Edwards <grant.b.edwards@gmail.com> - 2016-05-01 13:53 +0000
  Re: What should Python apps do when asked to show help? Marko Rauhamaa <marko@pacujo.net> - 2016-05-01 18:08 +0300
    Re: What should Python apps do when asked to show help? Grant Edwards <grant.b.edwards@gmail.com> - 2016-05-01 16:30 +0000
      Re: What should Python apps do when asked to show help? Steven D'Aprano <steve@pearwood.info> - 2016-05-02 02:36 +1000
        Re: What should Python apps do when asked to show help? Grant Edwards <grant.b.edwards@gmail.com> - 2016-05-01 17:04 +0000
          Re: What should Python apps do when asked to show help? Steven D'Aprano <steve@pearwood.info> - 2016-05-02 11:48 +1000
            Re: What should Python apps do when asked to show help? Terry Reedy <tjreedy@udel.edu> - 2016-05-02 02:34 -0400
        Re: What should Python apps do when asked to show help? Gene Heskett <gheskett@wdtv.com> - 2016-05-01 13:09 -0400
        Re: What should Python apps do when asked to show help? Random832 <random832@fastmail.com> - 2016-05-01 13:49 -0400
        Re: What should Python apps do when asked to show help? Ethan Furman <ethan@stoneleaf.us> - 2016-05-01 10:54 -0700

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