Docutils Project Documentation Overview
- Contact:
- docutils-develop@lists.sourceforge.net
- Date:
- 2023-04-08
- Revision:
- 9340
- Copyright:
- This document has been placed in the public domain.
The latest working documents may be accessed individually below, or from the docs directory of the Docutils distribution.
Project Fundamentals
These files are for all Docutils stakeholders. They are kept at the top level of the Docutils project directory.
- README:
Project overview: quick-start, requirements, installation, and usage.
- COPYING:
Conditions for Docutils redistribution, with links to licenses.
- FAQ:
Docutils Frequently Asked Questions. If you have a question or issue, there's a good chance it's already answered here.
- BUGS:
A list of known bugs, and how to report a bug.
- RELEASE-NOTES:
Summary of the major changes in recent releases and notice of future incompatible changes.
- HISTORY:
Detailed change history log.
- THANKS:
Acknowledgements.
Docutils Stakeholders …
can be categorized in several groups:
- End-users:
users of reStructuredText and the Docutils tools. Although some are developers (e.g. Python developers utilizing reStructuredText for docstrings in their source), many are not.
- Client-developers:
developers using Docutils as a library, programmers developing with Docutils.
- Component-developers:
those who implement application-specific components, directives, and/or roles, separately from Docutils.
- Core-developers:
developers of the Docutils codebase and participants in the Docutils project community.
- Re-implementers:
developers of alternate implementations of Docutils.
There's a lot of overlap between these groups. Most (perhaps all) core-developers, component-developers, client-developers, and re-implementers are also end-users. Core-developers are also client-developers, and may also be component-developers in other projects. Component-developers are also client-developers.
Introductory & Tutorial Material for End-Users
- Docutils-general:
- Writer-specific:
- reStructuredText:
A ReStructuredText Primer (see also the text source)
Quick reStructuredText (user reference)
reStructuredText Cheat Sheet (text only; 1 page for syntax, 1 page directive & role reference)
Demonstration of most reStructuredText features (see also the text source)
- Editor support:
Reference Material for All Groups
Many of these files began as developer specifications, but now that they're mature and used by end-users and client-developers, they have become reference material. Successful specs evolve into refs.
- Docutils-general:
The Docutils Document Tree (incomplete)
OASIS XML Exchange Table Model Declaration Module (CALS tables DTD module)
Docutils Design Specification (PEP 258)
- reStructuredText:
An Introduction to reStructuredText (includes the Goals and History of reStructuredText)
LaTeX syntax for mathematics (syntax used in "math" directive and role)
- Python Enhancement Proposals
PEP 256: Docstring Processing System Framework is a high-level generic proposal. [PEP 256 in the master repository]
PEP 257: Docstring Conventions addresses docstring style and touches on content. [PEP 257 in the master repository]
PEP 258: Docutils Design Specification is an overview of the architecture of Docutils. It documents design issues and implementation details. [PEP 258 in the master repository]
PEP 287: reStructuredText Docstring Format proposes a standard markup syntax. [PEP 287 in the master repository]
Please note that PEPs in the master repository developed independent from the local versions after submission.
- Prehistoric:
API Reference Material for Client-Developers
- The Docutils Publisher
entry points for using Docutils as a library
- Docutils Runtime Settings
configuration framework details
- Docutils Transforms
change the document tree in-place (resolve references, …)
The Docutils Design Specification (PEP 258) is a must-read for any Docutils developer.
Instructions for Developers
- Security:
Development Notes and Plans for Core-Developers
- Docutils-general:
Docstring Semantics (incomplete)
Python Source Reader (incomplete)
- reStructuredText: