From p.connolly at hortresearch.co.nz  Mon Apr 28 10:45:19 2003
From: p.connolly at hortresearch.co.nz (Patrick Connolly)
Date: Sun Apr 27 23:48:11 2003
Subject: [Rd] Re: Default value for title in postscript()
In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.4.44.0304241852210.1577-100000@gannet.stats>
References: <16038.17970.797442.963291@gargle.gargle.HOWL>
	<Pine.LNX.4.44.0304241852210.1577-100000@gannet.stats>
Message-ID: <20030427214519.GK14368@hortresearch.co.nz>

On Thu, 24-Apr-2003 at 06:56PM +0100, Prof Brian Ripley wrote:

|> On Wed, 23 Apr 2003, Martin Maechler wrote:
|> 
|> > 

|> > I tend to agree that a change might be useful --
|> > For the new default, I'd actually go further and propose
|> > something like (when file = "Rplots.ps")
|> > 
|> >    "Rplots.ps [from R 1.7.0]"
|> > 
|> >     PaCo> (assuming, of course, there aren't good reasons
|> >     PaCo> against doing that)?
|> > 
|> > Unfortunately, there's a good reason: back-compatibility.
|> > In spite of that, I do advocate a change.
|> 
|> I'm lost here!
|> 
|> Most people don't care what the title is, and I left it as previous
|> versions gave.  Why would anyone want the title in the file to default to 
|> the file name, which in any case defaults to something anodyne?

There is only one reason I can think of and that's so it is shown in
the title bar of ghostview.  That's a pretty good one.  I never use
default filenames, so the name in the title bar is always informative
if it's the filename.  All my postscript files created by R are in
places where it's obvious they're R Graphics Output.  That might not
be the case for other people.


|> 
|> There's a general R principle here: the person who does the work
|> gets to choose the details.  Patrick: if you had submitted a
|> comprehensive patch, you might have got to choose!

I looked at it, and noticed I'd have to do things with the .Internal
PS function (and I'd been warned off going there).  I asked the R-help
list how complicated it would be and was promptly notified that it had
been changed in the R-devel.  That's one of the neat things about R:
things happen quickly.

I'm not complaining.  It's simple enough for me to work with how it
is.  There was a possibility that other people might think my way of
working wasn't so wierd so that a change to the default might be
desirable.  I never use onefile = FALSE so there could be issues that
complicate matters in a way I'm unaware of.

best

-- 
Patrick Connolly
HortResearch
Mt Albert
Auckland
New Zealand 
Ph: +64-9 815 4200 x 7188
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I have the world`s largest collection of seashells. I keep it on all
the beaches of the world ... Perhaps you`ve seen it.  ---Steven Wright 
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[Rd] Re: Default value for title in postscript()
Patrick Connolly