[Doc-SIG] using the same delimiter on the left and right..

[Goodger, David]

Tony J Ibbs (Tibs) wrote:
> Edward D. Loper wrote:
> > We could switch our "literal" delimiter to "`". ...
>
> I hadn't thought of using backtick as a literal delimiter.

Just a little reminder here, guys. Although I haven't had time (or energy)
to participate in the recent voluminous discussions (I've been lurking), I
did present some carefully thought-out arguments about the above topic (and
many others) back in November. Have you read them yet? (Based on several
recent posts, including the ones referenced above, it seems you haven't.
Nudge, nudge. :) See:

  - A Plan for Structured Text
    http://mail.python.org/pipermail/doc-sig/2000-November/001239.html

  - Problems With StructuredText
    http://mail.python.org/pipermail/doc-sig/2000-November/001240.html

  - reStructuredText: Revised Structured Text Specification
    http://mail.python.org/pipermail/doc-sig/2000-November/001241.html

Specifically, backticks ("`") are good for inline literals. Single quotes
("'") are bad, because we use 'em too much in all contexts (apostrophes,
Python strings, prose quotations and nested quotations [Bruce said, "'Hot
enough to boil a monkey's bum,' Her Majesty said, and smiled quietly to
herself."], and the British seem to prefer them over double-quotes [in
novels at least]). Hash marks ("#") are unbearably ugly. Eddy W.'s
statements notwithstanding, in an agile (new P.C. term for "lightweight";
see http://www.agilealliance.org) markup scheme, we don't need all four of
(inline, block) x (alien text, Python code); I think that's up to the tool
to deal with.

/DG