Bug#470380: feature request: --viewer=CMD option to texi2dvi

[Hilmar Preusse <hille42@web.de>]

tags 470380 + wontfix
stop

On 10.03.08 Zack Weinberg (zackw@panix.com) wrote:

Hi Zack,

> The attached patch implements just such an option, spelt --viewer=CMD.
> (It may need a certain amount of polish; for instance, --viewer= with
> no argument does nothing useful and does not give an error.  I'm not
> comfortable enough with the coding style to do things like that.)
> 
The patch was rejected upstream, I tag it as wontfix. Here is the
answer from Karl Berry:

<snip>
I predict this is a slippery slope.  Although your patch as it stands
is clearly simple and noncontroversial, it is a foot in the door. 
Next people will want to specify arguments.  Then they'll want to
have a configuration file so the "right" viewer is automatically
invoked.  Then they'll want to connect to a running browser to see
HTML.  Then ...

I base this on what I've seen happen with the texdoc program.  But
its whole purpose is to display documentation, so the complications
have to be dealt with.  The purpose of texi2dvi is to convert Texinfo
to DVI(|PDF), not display the result.  It is not a TeX environment.

I think I will pass on this one.  Thanks anyway.
<snap>

H.
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