[Doc-SIG] some ideas for reStructuredText & document model

[Garth Kidd]

> - Change footnote syntax from ``.. [1]`` to ``_[1]``? Has this been
>   discussed before?

Oh, probably, but do it anyway. :) 

> - Differentiate author-date "citations" (``[GVR2002]``) from numbered
>   footnotes? Create a new set of DTD elements: "citation" and
>   "citation_reference"?

Sounds good, especially the difference in rendering. 

> - Render footnote references as superscripts without "[]"? (But only
>   if we differentiate numerical footnotes from textual citations.)

This is where you start wanting to use XHTML/CSS. Or, of course, people
can just use the XML output and write their own transforms. 

> - Make footnotes two-way, GNU-style? What if there are multiple
>   references to a single footnote?

Ha! I told you that'd happen! :) 

> - Add a "sidebar" element to the DTD? Like a generic admonition or
>   floating mini-section. Useful for TOC, system messages section,
>   abstract, etc.

Lovely. 

> 
> - Add character processing? For example:
> 
>   - "--" -> em-dash (or "--" -> en-dash, and "---" -> em-dash)

Yes! Yes! My personal preference is -- for em-dashes, but I bet I'm
mis-using them. :) 

>   - convert quotes to curly quote entities

I hate it when that happens. 

>   - various forms of ":-)" to smily icons

That, too. 

>   How to represent entities in the text though? Unicode?

ë and friends?

Regards,
Garth.