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(texinfo)Debugging with Info

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Catching Errors with Info Formatting
====================================

  After you have written part of a Texinfo file, you can use the
`texinfo-format-region' or the `makeinfo-region' command to see whether
the region formats properly.

  Most likely, however, you are reading this section because for some
reason you cannot use the `makeinfo-region' command; therefore, the
rest of this section presumes that you are using
`texinfo-format-region'.

  If you have made a mistake with an @-command, `texinfo-format-region'
will stop processing at or after the error and display an error
message.  To see where in the buffer the error occurred, switch to the
`*Info Region*' buffer; the cursor will be in a position that is after
the location of the error.  Also, the text will not be formatted after
the place where the error occurred (or more precisely, where it was
detected).

  For example, if you accidentally end a menu with the command `@end
menus' with an `s' on the end, instead of with `@end menu', you will
see an error message that says:

     @end menus is not handled by texinfo

The cursor will stop at the point in the buffer where the error occurs,
or not long after it.  The buffer will look like this:

     ---------- Buffer: *Info Region* ----------
     * Menu:
     
     * Using texinfo-show-structure::  How to use
                                       `texinfo-show-structure'
                                       to catch mistakes.
     * Running Info-Validate::         How to check for
                                       unreferenced nodes.
     @end menus
     -!-
     ---------- Buffer: *Info Region* ----------

  The `texinfo-format-region' command sometimes provides slightly odd
error messages.  For example, the following cross reference fails to
format:

     (@xref{Catching Mistakes, for more info.)

In this case, `texinfo-format-region' detects the missing closing brace
but displays a message that says `Unbalanced parentheses' rather than
`Unbalanced braces'.  This is because the formatting command looks for
mismatches between braces as if they were parentheses.

  Sometimes `texinfo-format-region' fails to detect mistakes.  For
example, in the following, the closing brace is swapped with the
closing parenthesis:

     (@xref{Catching Mistakes), for more info.}

Formatting produces:
     (Note: for more info.

  The only way for you to detect this error is to realize that the
reference should have looked like this:

     (Note: Catching Mistakes, for more info.)

  Incidentally, if you are reading this node in Info and type `f <RET>'
(`Info-follow-reference'), you will generate an error message that says:

     No such node: "Catching Mistakes) The only way ...

This is because Info perceives the example of the error as the first
cross reference in this node and if you type a <RET> immediately after
typing the Info `f' command, Info will attempt to go to the referenced
node.  If you type `f catch <TAB> <RET>', Info will complete the node
name of the correctly written example and take you to the `Catching
Mistakes' node.  (If you try this, you can return from the `Catching
Mistakes' node by typing `l' (`Info-last').)