Ihor Radchenko <[email protected]> writes:
> They work. Fundamental mode is usable, isn't it?
As usable as any other language: no syntax highlighting, no correct
indentation, no compilation and run, no code completion, etc.
Instead of theorizing, let me tell you my experience, as a user of the
Org Mode and Graphviz:
I have had the Graphviz Dot mode installed for a long time and only now
noticed Org does not use it. I took it for granted that Org would does
its best to enable the right major mode, for that is the case with all
the other languages I use. Turns out, it does not, and I missed out on
all the great features of the Graphviz Dot mode.
A user of the Org Mode and Graphviz has currently 3 options:
(1) Write `#+begin_src dot':
- lose all benefits of the specialized major mode
- keep all benefits of Org Babel
(2) Write `#+begin_src graphviz-dot':
- keep all benefits of the specialized major mode
- lose all benefits or Org Babel:
org-babel-execute-src-block: No org-babel-execute function for
graphviz-dot!
(3) Keep changing between `dot' and `graphviz-dot':
This is the best option for an average user, currently.
Note that options (2) and (3) require the user to "know the trick".
> In contrast, if you force using graphwiz-dot-mode from MELPA, and it is
> not installed, there will be an error.
Is this not the default behavior in Org Babel?
e.g. Lua or R are editable in the Fundamental mode as Dot is.
> Maybe we should solve this problem more generally, and universally
> change babel to try deriving the major mode first and fall back to
> fundamental-mode if the major mode is not available.
That would be great. In fact, it sounds like a perfect job for Org
experts like you. :)
But even if we had this functionality, we still need an alias for
`graphviz-dot', right? Otherwise, the specialized mode would not
activate. So, perhaps my patch is a step in the right direction?
> Why not simply graphviz?
I named it after the specialized major mode, to make it work out of the
box. But, as I explain below, `graphviz' would be the best name for
these source blocks.
>> P.S. As the next step, we could perhaps rename `ob-dot' to
>> `ob-graphviz-dot' and make `dot' the alias, not `graphviz-dot', so that
>> the officially documented `#+BEGIN_SRC dot' works out of the box too.
>
> But the official name is "DOT language" isn't it?
> I see no reason for renaming.
In fact, the best name would be `ob-graphviz', and the reason is as
follows. While the `dot' source blocks default to the Dot language,
they can use all the other Graphviz languages as well. For example,
below is my drawing of a molecule with a hydrocarbon ring, which is
easier done with Circo:
#+begin_src dot :cmd circo :file cyclopentane.svg
graph {
bgcolor = transparent
node [shape = circle]
{ node [label = "C" style = filled] c1 c2 c3 c4 c5 }
{ node [label = "H"] h11 h12 h21 h22 h31 h32 h41 h42 h51 h52 }
c1 -- c2 -- c3 -- c4 -- c5 -- c1
h11 -- c1 -- h12
h21 -- c2 -- h22
h31 -- c3 -- h32
h41 -- c4 -- h42
h51 -- c5 -- h52
}
#+end_src
Calling the source block `dot' is nonsense, as the language is `circo'.
Instead, we should write `#+begin_src graphviz :cmd circo' and and call
the Babel package `ob-graphviz`. It just happens that `:cmd' defaults
to `dot'. And that is fine, as Dot is the most popular Graphviz
language.
Rudy
--
"If you're thinking without writing, you only think you're thinking."
--- Leslie Lamport
Rudolf Adamkovič <[email protected]> [he/him]
http://adamkovic.org
