Re: psql: new help related to variables are not too readable

Hi,

On 09/08/2017 07:25 AM, Fabien COELHO wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
>>>   PSQL_HISTORY       alternative location for the command history file
>>>
>>> I would prefer to revert to that more compact 9.6-formatting.
>>
>> There was a problem with line width .. its hard to respect 80 chars
>
> Yes.
>
> Scrolling in two dimensions because it does not fit either way is not
> too practical, so the idea was the it should at least fit a reasonable
> terminal in the horizontal dimension, the vertical one having been
> unfittable anyway for a long time.
>
> Once you want to do strict 80 columns, a lot of/most descriptions do not
> fit and need to be split somehow on two lines, one way or another. It
> seemed that
>
>   XXXXXXX
>       xxxx xxx xx xxx xxx xxxx
>
> Is a good way to do that systematically and with giving more space and
> chance for a description to fit in its line. ISTM that it was already
> done like for environment variables, so it is also for homogeneity.
>

FWIW I also find the new formatting hard to read, as it does not clearly
separate the items. The old formatting was not ideal either, though.

>
> It also simplify work for translators that can just follow the same
> formatting and know what to do if a one line English explanation does
> not fit once translated.
>

As someone responsible for a significant part of the Czech translation,
I find this argument somewhat dubious. I don't see how this

_("XXXX "
" yyyy")

simplifies the work for translators, compared to this

_("XXXX yyyy")

The translator has exactly the same context in both cases, and the
struggle to wrap it at 80 characters will be pretty much the same too.

The thing that would make a difference is automatic wrapping, i.e.
split on spaces, then re-build into shorter than 80 characters ...

> Finally, as vertical scrolling is mandatory, I would be fine with
> skipping lines with entries for readability, but it is just a matter of
> taste and I expect there should be half a dozen different opinions on
> the matter of formatting.
>

FWIW, +1 to extra lines from me - I find it way more readable, as it
clearly separates the items. You're right this is also a matter of taste
to some degree, so I understand Erik's point about vertical scrolling.

regards

--
Tomas Vondra http://www.2ndQuadrant.com
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