i noticed this on RandomTopicPlugin, which has a

• Set INCLUDE = topics to include

which causes the (side|top|bottom) bars not to render (and presumably any other INCLUDE that might be in the topic)

WN

If you set any standard variable, this will happen. It's a deliberate behaviour, so that system variables can be overridden on a per-site basis.

CC

i didn't realise INCLUDE was a variable; i thought it was a command/function. the format for INCLUDE = versus %INCLUDE{ "Topic" }% are different enough to be distinguished as different cases. also, i'm going to have to invoke the "backwards compatability" clause >;-/

WN

I fell into this trap myself. The BlackListPlugin had a BLACKLIST setting and defined a %BLACKLIST{ action="something" }% variable. I had to change the latter one to %BLACKLISTPLUGIN{ action="something" }% to make it work in Dakar.

It is too late to change the spec for Dakar.

PTh

well, i "fixed" RandomTopicPlugin with SVN:8003, but i still think the solution is crap

WN

Cairo had %INCLUDE% and %INCLUDE{...}% as different 'variables', despite having the same name. This worked for Cairo because of the random order in which variables were expanded, which was delicately tuned so it worked in most cases. In Dakar I rationalised variables so that the un-argumented form of a name (%INCLUDE%) is a case of the argumented form (%INCLUDE{...}%). This allowed for significant code simplification, and a much more understandable UI.

I believe this is the correct approach, and that the specialcaseitis in Cairo is confusing and unfriendly. So I'm discarding this item. If you want nothing to change between Cairo and Dakar, then please feel free to continue using Cairo.

CC

Clarification: Cairo did not have an %INCLUDE%, just %INCLUDE{...}%, %STARTINCLUDE% and %STOPINCLUDE%.

I agree with Crawford that we should keep the current behaviour (in the interest of not delaying the Dakar release even further)

-- PTh