[gentoo-dev] Re: Default blank lines for error, elog, einfo, etc

[Duncan]

Jim Ramsay <lack@g.o> posted
20080616083401.1703135a@××××××××××××××××.com, excerpted below, on  Mon, 16
Jun 2008 08:34:01 -0400:

> Joe Peterson <lavajoe@g.o> wrote:
>> As for why it would be more useful than eerror/ewarn without an
>> argument: it would potentially allow for intelligent "context-based"
>> coloring of the "*" (based on surrounding lines).
>
> Well, this is true and it isn't... In the case of:
>
>   ewarn line one
>   eblank
>   ewarn line two
>
> Obviously it would be the same as ewarn.  However, what about here:
>
>   ewarn line one
>   eblank
>   elog line two
>   eblank
>   einfo line three

Here's a novel idea, let blank lines be /real/ blank lines! =8^)

Seriously, when it's different messages, having a * of /any/ color 
between them only confuses the case, that they /are/ different messages.  
If it's paragraphs of the same message, then the color of the * isn't an 
issue, just make it the same color as that for the other content lines of 
the message.

Sometimes I'll check the messages, and see two or three different logs/
warnings/whatever discussed in what appears to be the same message.  That 
shouldn't be the case.  I should be able to scan thru them and as soon as 
I note that it's a message I've read before, be able to skip to the next 
one.  As it is, I have to read thru the entire message just to see if 
something new got added to the end.

Talking about which, what I'd like would be a date-stamp noting when the 
message was added, or better yet, some indication of the message being 
either new or something that's necessary to check each time, even on -r 
updates and remerges.  If I'm updating something that has a number of 
messages and is frequently updated, I should be able to see immediately 
the new messages added since the last time I updated, and the ones that 
always apply.  Of course, that's not entirely practical to try to 
implement, but it'd be nice, and it does reinforce why I'd prefer /real/ 
blanks between messages, not ones with colored stars that may or may not 
make it look like the entire group of messages are just one single long 
message, depending on whether they're all the same color or not.

-- 
Duncan - List replies preferred.   No HTML msgs.
"Every nonfree program has a lord, a master --
and if you use the program, he is your master."  Richard Stallman

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