[sword-devel] representation of catchWord in osishtmlref filter

[Chris Little]

Peter von Kaehne wrote:
> The idea of catchWord is that it quotes again the referenced word and
> then is followed e.g. by a better explanation or, commonly by
> alternative translations.
> 
> Problem is that the osishtmlref filter will render both catchword and
> the alternative translations (rdg) as italic, losing in the process any
> distinction in presentation.
> 
> My suggestion is that catchword is either underlined or bolded.
> 
> This is the relevant code:
> 
> // <catchWord> & <rdg> tags (italicize)
>                 else if (!strcmp(tag.getName(), "rdg") ||
> !strcmp(tag.getName(), "catchWord")) {
>                         if ((!tag.isEndTag()) && (!tag.isEmpty())) {
>                                 outText("<i>", buf, u);
>                         }
>                         else if (tag.isEndTag()) {
>                                 outText("</i>", buf, u);
>                         }
> 
> 
> Any thoughts?
> 
> Peter

Do you have specific examples where we have exactly
"<catchword>...</catchword> <rdg>...</rdg>" with no intervening text or 
punctuation? I would expect one or both, e.g. 
"<catchword>...</catchword>: lit. <rdg>...</rdg>".

In a very unscientific sampling of texts I had within arm's reach, I 
found that most texts simply avoid the problem by excluding the 
catchWord part (since footnote location indicates this suitably for 
most). The only document I could find that consistently had both was a 
Mittelhochdeutsches Lesebuch, which presented both catchWord & rdg in 
italics, but always with some intervening text.

So it might make more sense to keep the code as is and fix any modules 
that lack an unitalicized span by adding a colon. It's just a thought. 
But I really don't like the idea of underlining or bolding the catchWord 
on grounds that it would be unattractive and non-standard.

--Chris