[snip, snip]
the problem with tex (and therefore context) is that we are dealing with quite some interaction between unpredictable user input, macro (expansions), tex-internals, resources like fonts, patterns and whatever, etc. and this is why you often need to play with mechanisms: small test files and see how it looks (tex is a visual tool)
it's often not as simple as "you feed it this" end "get back that"
I would disagree with you on a philosophical level, but no need to go into that!
for documentation several methods are used:
- examples in the test suite
- some explanation in the source
- explanations on the wiki
- dedicated manuals
- articles by users (+examples)
although i sometimes run into impressive auto-documented documentation for languages or os commands, in practice i find myself looking for examples and/or experimenting and/or going into sources
We could need some more dedicated manuals especially in the area of side effects of parameters and thier
interactions inside of context.
Most examples focus on just one or two parameters which is good as a starting point, yet many posts here
show the lack of examples for the interplay of parameters locally and globally.
I do have a request: would it be possible to finish the section on overlays and stacks in the manual or at least
start on it. I need that information because I need to use stacks inside of frames and these are then stacked inside of
others. The examples I have found are for margins, pages and inside of tables, but are not helpful for the task for me
at hand.
regards
Keith.