pollen/pollen/scribblings/typography.scrbl

#lang scribble/manual

@(require scribble/eval pollen/decode pollen/setup txexpr (for-label pollen/unstable/typography txexpr racket (except-in pollen #%module-begin)))

@(define my-eval (make-base-eval))
@(my-eval `(require pollen pollen/unstable/typography))
@(require "mb-tools.rkt")


@title{Typography}

@defmodule[pollen/unstable/typography]

Quick & dirty utilities. I use them, but I haven't tested them with enough edge cases to feel like they deserve to live outside @racket[unstable]. I welcome improvements.


@defproc[
(smart-quotes
[str string?])
string?]
Convert straight quotes in @racket[_str] to curly according to American English conventions.

@examples[#:eval my-eval
(define tricky-string 
"\"Why,\" she could've asked, \"are we in O‘ahu watching 'Mame'?\"")
(display tricky-string)
(display (smart-quotes tricky-string))
]

@defproc[
(smart-dashes
[str string?])
string?]
In @racket[_str], convert three hyphens to an em dash, and two hyphens to an en dash, and remove surrounding spaces.

@examples[#:eval my-eval
(define tricky-string "I had a few --- OK, like 6--8 --- thin mints.")
(display tricky-string)
(display (smart-dashes tricky-string))
(code:comment @#,t{Monospaced font not great for showing dashes, but you get the idea})
]



@defproc[
(wrap-hanging-quotes
[tx txexpr?]
[#:single-preprend single-preprender txexpr-tag? 'squo]
[#:double-preprend double-preprender txexpr-tag? 'dquo]
)
txexpr?]
Find single or double quote marks at the beginning of @racket[_tx] and wrap them in an X-expression with the tag @racket[_single-preprender] or @racket[_double-preprender], respectively. The default values are @racket['squo] and @racket['dquo].

@examples[#:eval my-eval
(wrap-hanging-quotes '(p "No quote to hang."))
(wrap-hanging-quotes '(p "“What? We need to hang quotes?”"))
]

In pro typography, quotation marks at the beginning of a line or paragraph are often shifted into the margin slightly to make them appear more optically aligned with the left edge of the text. With a reflowable layout model like HTML, you don't know where your line breaks will be. 

This function will simply insert the @racket['squo] and @racket['dquo] tags, which provide hooks that let you do the actual hanging via CSS, like so (actual measurement can be refined to taste):

@verbatim{squo {margin-left: -0.25em;}
dquo {margin-left: -0.50em;}
}

Be warned: there are many edge cases this function does not handle well.

@examples[#:eval my-eval
(code:comment @#,t{Argh: this edge case is not handled properly})
(wrap-hanging-quotes '(p "“" (em "What?") "We need to hang quotes?”"))
]