> From: Gavin Smith <[email protected]> > Date: Tue, 29 Sep 2026 18:46:47 +0100 > Cc: [email protected], [email protected] > > > Is this all that there is to know, or are there other aspects of this? > > It is used in the node information line if the node name contains a > comma (possibly for other problematic characters also), and is also used > for pointers to nodes in the node information line if the name of the > referenced node contains a comma. > > It's in this text in the manual: > > Regular nodes look like this: > > <node> = > <separator> > File: <fn>, Node: <id1>, (Next: <id2>, )? (Prev: <id3>, )? Up: <id4> > > <general text, until the next ^_ or end-of-file> > > At least one space or tab must be present after each colon and comma, > but any number of spaces are ignored. The <id> node identifiers have > following format: > > <id> = (<lparen><infofile><rparen>)?<node-spec>? > <node-spec> = <nodename> | <del><nodename><del> > <del> = ^? > > ... > > Node names containing periods, commas, colons or parentheses can > confuse Info readers. If it is necessary to refer to a node whose name > contains any of these, the <nodename> should be surrounded by a pair of > ‘DEL’ characters (‘CTRL-?’, character number 127). ‘makeinfo’ adds > these characters when needed in the default case. Note that not all > Info readers recognize this syntax. *Note Info Node Names > Constraints::. > > Info node "(texinfo)Info Format Regular Nodes". > > Note also that the DEL-quoting mechanism is not used in the Tag Table > section of the Info file.
By trial-and-error I discovered that the Texinfo manual only discusses "invalid characters" and their escaping in relation to node names. But in fact, the reference (a.k.a. "label") part of a cross-reference or menu item can also be quoted if it uses "invalid characters"; this is not covered in the manual, except in the technical chapter that describes the Info format in a formal manner. I think this should be covered in "Cross Reference Parts". Btw, I understand that a comma is also a character that must be quoted, but it isn't clear to me how can one use a comma in a node name or in the label of a cross reference in a Texinfo source file, since a comma delimits arguments of @xref and other cross-referencing commands. Am I missing something?
