Re: [bug #59573] typesetting.mom: traps are not initialised (set, planted)

[T . Kurt Bond]

On Sat, 05 Dec 2020 13:35:09 -0500,
Peter Schaffter <peter@schaffter.ca> wrote:
> On Sun, Dec 06, 2020, G. Branden Robinson wrote:
> >     3. Downgrade the error to a warning.
> 
> This seems reasonable, given the current nop behaviour, which
> groffers expect.  It is useful for debugging to know a trap hasn't
> been planted, but, like an undefined string, it should be treated as
> a warning.
> 
> >   This will require determine an appropriate warning category for
> >   it.
> 
> I'd recommend mac (.warn 512), and update the description of mac
> in troff(1) and elsewhere to "Use of undefined strings, macros,
> diversions, and traps."  My reasoning is that .ch "uses" a trap,
> hence the absence of that trap means you're using something
> undefined.
> 
> A warning alerts you to a potential problem and allows
> you to do something about it if necessary; an error is just plain
> wrong and has to be fixed.  The .ch problem is of the first
> category and should be treated as such.

This seems reasonable to me.

I'll note that Heirloom troff does not issue any warnings.

-- 
T. Kurt Bond, tkurtbond@gmail.com, https://tkurtbond.github.io/