OJFord on Pikchr – PIC-like markup language for diagrams in technical documentation

Comment on Pikchr – PIC-like markup language for diagrams in technical documentation

Pikchr is designed to be embedded in fenced code blocks of Markdown

Odd choice, usually that's how you'd show the (possibly syntax-highlighted) code as-is, not execute/render it in situ.

E.g. what if I want a document that says 'this pikchr code generates this'? I'd expect to write something like:

    ```pikchr
    arrow 200% "whatever"
    ```
    renders:
    $pikchr
    arrow 200% "whatever"
    $

(Or some other syntax) not the code block twice, once with some kind of escaping.

wyoung2 4y

If you leave off the "pikchr" tag or use something else like "PikchrSource", then the renderer doesn't trigger.

If you want to see it both ways, Fossil renders the diagrams with an Alt or Ctrl-click handler attached (depending on platform) that toggles between the SVG and the fixed-width source code view.

And if you don't like the modifier key, you can tag a diagram "pikchr toggle" to make it toggle with a simple left-click.

OJFord 4y

Sure, but usually specifying "pikchr" (or whatever) means syntax-highlight as appropriate to that language; not execute as that language.

kragen 4y

That's maybe the most interesting idea out of the whole setup!

You could reasonably put options on the fenced-code-block header line:

    ```pikchr --source
    ...
    ```

    ```pikchr --caption  # caption rendered figure with source
    ...
    ```

I don't know if pikchr supports anything like this, but it seems like you could add it pretty easily if you wanted to.

Comments