[syslinux] submenus and menu title

[Ady]

Date sent:      	Tue, 18 Sep 2012 22:18:35 -0400
From:           	Gene Cumm <gene.cumm at gmail.com>
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Subject:        	Re: [syslinux] submenus and menu title
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> On Tue, Sep 18, 2012 at 8:32 PM, Ady <ady-sf at hotmail.com> wrote:
> > Hello Gene,
> >
> > I think that submenus involve many details that are not necessary for
> > all users. Currently almost no information about submenus is
> > documented, except the mention of the existence of a few directives.
> 
> Aside from cleaning up and ensuring items like the fallbacks are
> documented, I'm not sure what else there is other than examples.
> 
> > In my case, it took me "too much" time to understand the "oddities" I
> > was seeing. Even a developer as yourself, with experience in
> > Syslinux, was unaware of some of those fallback rules we are
> > covering.
> 
> I typically consider myself a contributor.  I normally avoid the menu
> system except to use "MENU LABEL"s for pretty names.  As I result, I
> was using doc/menu.txt but that's a bit dated.  However, the fallback
> rules are very straight forward to add.
> 

For developers, maybe a couple of sentences in menu.txt would be 
enough. If necessary, probably the wiki could be a place for 
expanding the matter into more practical fields, for common users. I 
guess it was more difficult for me than it really is, when the 
fallback rules were not documented and the current documentation 
is/was not matching the real tests (parent title not actually 
inherited). About what else is there to mention (somewhere), I posted 
examples in my previous email:

> > To mention just some points to be documented, the potential
> > restrictions for "tagname", or its equivalent use as "label", or
> > examples for
> >  [MENU] INCLUDE filename.cfg [tagname]
> > in addition to the sample cases I presented here in this thread, or
> > even multiple levels of submenus, or using other alternatives
> > methods. I think it's too much to add to menu.txt.
> 
> I'd say the rules/syntax should be clearly but concisely explained in
> menu.txt and should list the directive and its required and optional
> arguments, the valid context (LABEL, top menu, submenu or both top and
> sub menus), and an explanation of its functions and rules, including
> fallback rules.
> 
> > This is not the only matter that needs more documentation for the
> > user (author of cfg files). IMHO, adding references (whether in text
> > files as "read some_file.txt for more info about submenus", or in the
> > wiki as internal links) generates a main (already "long") menu.txt
> > that is easier to read and follow, specially for newcomers. A
> > separate document would provide more info for those users
> > specifically interested. The reader not interested in using submenus
> > would continue reading the main document about the configuration of
> > [vesa]menu.c32 with a more natural flow.
> 
> I'd say this falls more into the idea of example configs.  menu.txt
> should explain it all however, yes, there are some circumstances where
> it's easier to go into more detail with examples.
> 

Thus I asked for a suggestion about an adequate name for a potential 
new wiki page about "[vesa]menu.c32 submenus".

> > In any case, after 2 months of presenting here my request /
> > suggestion, I have no indication whether it is going to be
> > implemented some time in the foreseeable future, even after
> > summarizing it in one email.
> 
> I'm will admit that I misunderstood some of what you were trying to
> explain and what was going on.
> 

That's perfectly fine, and I sincerely appreciate your efforts and 
patience with me. Yet, I still don't know if my suggestions will 
actually be implemented.

> > Please don't misunderstand me. I'm not complaining, at all. I just
> > would rather have an indication that I'm not wasting my (and yours,
> > and probably others') time with this issue.
> >
> > I have already prepared a "media wiki table" with the fallback rules,
> > and I can easily convert it to a text-only table for inclusion in a
> 
> This seems quite unnecessary.  It's just two straight forward
> prioritized lists.  About 1 line each.
> 

OK. Hopefully my suggestions will inspire someone to implement them.

TIA,
Ady.