Add section with Frequently Asked Questions

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Protesilaos Stavrou 2022-06-17 10:07:11 +03:00
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@ -1450,6 +1450,87 @@ mutually exclusive.
If I missed something, please let me know.
* Frequently Asked Questions
:PROPERTIES:
:CUSTOM_ID: h:da2944c6-cde6-4c65-8f2d-579305a159bb
:END:
I (Protesilaos) answer some questions I have received or might get. It
is assumed that you have read the rest of this manual: I will not go
into the specifics of how Denote works.
/Why develop Denote when PACKAGE already exists?/
I wrote Denote because I was using a variant of Denote's file-naming
scheme before I was even an Emacs user. Note-taking is something I take
very seriously, as I am a prolific writer (just check my website, which
only reveals the tip of the iceberg). As such, I need a program that
does exactly what I want and which I know how to extend.
The existence of PACKAGE is never a good reason for me not to conduct my
own experiments for recreational, educational, or practical purposes.
Whether you should use Denote or not is another matter altogether:
choose whatever you want.
/Why not rely exclusively on Org?/
I think Org is one of Emacs' killer apps. I also believe it is not the
right tool for every job. When I write notes, I want to focus on
writing. Nothing more. I thus have no need for stuff like org-babel,
scheduling to-do items, clocking time, and so on. The more "mental
dependencies" you add to your workflow, the heavier the burden you carry
and the less focused you are on the task at hand.
In technical terms, I also am not fond of Org's code base (I understand
why it is the way it is---just commenting on the fact). Ever tried to
read it? You will routinely find functions that are hundreds of lines
long and have all sorts of special casing. As I am not a programmer and
only learnt to write Elisp through trial and error, I have no confidence
in my ability to make Org do what I want at that level.
Perhaps the master programmer is one who can deal with complexity and
keep adding to it. I am of the opposite view as language---code
included---is at its communicative best when it is clear and accessible.
Make no mistake: I use Org for the agenda and also to write technical
documentation that needs to be exported to various formats, including
this very manual.
/Why care about Unix tools when you use Emacs?/
My notes form part of my longer-term storage. I do not want to have to
rely on a special program to be able to read them or filter them. Unix
is universal, at least as far as I am concerned. Denote streamlines
some tasks and makes things easier in general, which is consistent with
how Emacs provides a layer of interactivity on top of Unix. Still,
Denote's utilities can, in principle, be implemented as POSIX shell
scripts.
Portability matters. For example, in the future I might own a
smartphone, so I prefer not to require Emacs, Org, or some other
executable to access my files on the go.
Furthermore, I might want to share those files with someone. If I make
Emacs a requirement, I am limiting my circle to a handful of relatively
advanced users.
Please don't misinterpret this: I am using Emacs full-time for my
computing and maintain a growing list of packages for it.
/Why many small files instead of few large ones?/
I have read that Org favours the latter method. If true, I strongly
disagree with it because of the implicit dependency it introduces and
the way it favours machine-friendliness over human-readability in terms
of accessing information. You already get what I mean, based on the
aforementioned.
Good luck using =less= on a generic TTY to read a file with a zillion
words, headings, sub-headings, sub-sub-headings, property drawers, and
other constructs! My point is that notes should be atomic to help the
user make sense of them. The more program-agnostic your file is, the
better for you and/or everyone else you might share your writings with.
* Acknowledgements
:PROPERTIES:
:CUSTOM_ID: h:f8126820-3b59-49fa-bcc2-73bd60132bb9