On Wed, Jan 26, 2022 at 09:33:58PM -0500, Tom Lane wrote:
> Bruce Momjian <br...@momjian.us> writes:
> > OK, updated patch attached. I don't think we even show TCL syntax
> > anywhere anymore, so I removed that text, rather than moving it.
>
> I really don't care for this phrasing at all:
>
> - the body of a PL/Tcl function:
> + the body of a PL/Tcl function (brackets (<literal>[</literal> and
> + <literal>]</literal>) are represented here as question marks):
>
> It's unclear whether you mean actual brackets or metasyntactic brackets;
> somebody who hasn't completely internalized the notion of brackets as
> indicating optional elements would be particularly likely to
> misunderstand.
>
> I'd also suggest that wedging this into a parenthetic remark between a
> sentence and the example the sentence is talking about is awkward.
>
> I'd suggest a separate para at some point before the first usage,
> along the lines of
>
> In this section, we follow the usual Tcl convention of using question
> marks, rather than brackets, to indicate an optional element in a
> syntax synopsis.
Oh, then I didn't understand it either. I know Tcl uses brackets for
stuff so I thought there was some weird syntax that represented brackets
as something else. Anyway, updated patch attached.
--
Bruce Momjian <br...@momjian.us> https://momjian.us
EDB https://enterprisedb.com
If only the physical world exists, free will is an illusion.
diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/notation.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/notation.sgml
index bd1e8f629a..c3798d5f1b 100644
--- a/doc/src/sgml/notation.sgml
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/notation.sgml
@@ -6,12 +6,12 @@
<para>
The following conventions are used in the synopsis of a command:
brackets (<literal>[</literal> and <literal>]</literal>) indicate
- optional parts. (In the synopsis of a Tcl command, question marks
- (<literal>?</literal>) are used instead, as is usual in Tcl.) Braces
+ optional parts. Braces
(<literal>{</literal> and <literal>}</literal>) and vertical lines
(<literal>|</literal>) indicate that you must choose one
alternative. Dots (<literal>...</literal>) mean that the preceding element
- can be repeated.
+ can be repeated. All other symbols, including parentheses, should be
+ taken literally.
</para>
<para>
diff --git a/doc/src/sgml/pltcl.sgml b/doc/src/sgml/pltcl.sgml
index 1759fc4498..9839e375ad 100644
--- a/doc/src/sgml/pltcl.sgml
+++ b/doc/src/sgml/pltcl.sgml
@@ -320,8 +320,10 @@ $$ LANGUAGE pltcl;
<title>Database Access from PL/Tcl</title>
<para>
- The following commands are available to access the database from
- the body of a PL/Tcl function:
+ In this section, we follow the usual Tcl convention of using question
+ marks, rather than brackets, to indicate an optional element in a
+ syntax synopsis. The following commands are available to access
+ the database from the body of a PL/Tcl function:
<variablelist>
