Path: csiph.com!fu-berlin.de!uni-berlin.de!not-for-mail
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: Sun, 1 May 2016 16:30:03 +0000 (UTC)
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On 2016-05-01, Marko Rauhamaa <marko@pacujo.net> wrote:
> Grant Edwards <grant.b.edwards@gmail.com>:
>
>> On 2016-05-01, Chris Angelico <rosuav@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> 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.
>
> In discussions like these, it would be important to draw from
> precedents. Are there commands that have such an option?

It's pretty rare.  It is assumed that Unix uses can type " | less" if
they want to view the output of a program with a pager.  That's
simpler and faster than spending time to try to figure out if and how
you tell some particular application to invoke a pager for you.

> I could only find:
>
>    mysql --pager CMD
>
> which seems sensible but nothing like an industry standard.
>
> Personally, I wouldn't bother with builtin paging.

I agree completely.  Builtin paging is pretty much pointless -- but if
you _are_ going to do, make it something that you invoke with a
command line option.

-- 
Grant