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README: Docutils
- Contact:
- goodger@users.sourceforge.net
- Date:
- 2003-08-16
- Web site:
- Copyright:
- This document has been placed in the public domain.
Thank you for downloading the Python Docutils project archive. As this is a work in progress, please check the project website for updated working files (snapshots). This project should be considered highly experimental; APIs are subject to change at any time.
Quick-Start
This is for those who want to get up & running quickly. Read on for complete details.
Get and install the latest release of Python, available from
Python 2.2 or later [1] is required; Python 2.2.2 or later is recommended.
Use the latest Docutils code. Get the code from CVS or from the snapshot:
See Releases & Snapshots below for details.
Unpack the tarball in a temporary directory (not directly in Python's site-packages) and install with the standard
python setup.py install
See Installation below for details.
Use a front-end tool from the "tools" subdirectory of the same directory as in step 3. For example:
cd tools html.py test.txt test.html
See Usage below for details.
Purpose
The purpose of the Docutils project is to create a set of tools for processing plaintext documentation into useful formats, such as HTML, XML, and TeX. Support for the following sources has been implemented:
Standalone files.
Support for the following sources is planned:
Inline documentation from Python modules and packages, extracted with namespace context. This is the focus of the current development effort.
Email (RFC-822 headers, quoted excerpts, signatures, MIME parts).
Wikis, with global reference lookups of "wiki links".
Compound documents, such as multiple chapter files merged into a book.
And others as discovered.
Releases & Snapshots
Putting together an official "Release" of Docutils is a significant effort, so it isn't done that often. In the meantime, the CVS snapshots always contain the latest code and documentation, usually updated within an hour of changes being committed to the repository, and usually bug-free:
Snapshot of Docutils code, front-end tools, tests, documentation, and specifications: http://docutils.sf.net/docutils-snapshot.tgz
Snapshot of the Sandbox (experimental, contributed code): http://docutils.sf.net/docutils-sandbox-snapshot.tgz
Snapshot of web files (the files that generate the web site): http://docutils.sf.net/docutils-web-snapshot.tgz
To keep up to date on the latest developments, download fresh copies of the snapshots regularly. New functionality is being added weekly, sometimes daily. (There's also the CVS repository, and a mailing list for CVS messages. See the web site [address above] or spec/notes.txt for details.)
Requirements
To run the code, Python 2.2 or later [1] must already be installed. The latest release is recommended (2.2.2 as of this writing). Python is available from http://www.python.org/.
Project Files & Directories
README.txt: You're reading it.
COPYING.txt: Public Domain Dedication and copyright details for non-public-domain files (most are PD).
FAQ.txt: Docutils Frequently Asked Questions.
HISTORY.txt: Release notes for the current and previous project releases.
setup.py: Installation script. See "Installation" below.
install.py: Quick & dirty installation script. Just run it.
docutils: The project source directory, installed as a Python package.
extras: Directory for third-party modules that Docutils depends on. These are only installed if they're not already present.
docs: The project user documentation directory. Contains the following documents:
docs/tools.txt: Docutils Front-End Tools
docs/latex.txt: Docutils LaTeX Writer
docs/rst/quickstart.txt: A ReStructuredText Primer
docs/rst/quickref.html: Quick reStructuredText (HTML only)
licenses: Directory containing copies of license files for non-public-domain files.
spec: The project specification directory. Contains PEPs (Python Enhancement Proposals), XML DTDs (document type definitions), and other documents. The spec/rst directory contains the reStructuredText specification. The spec/howto directory contains How-To documents for developers.
tools: Directory for Docutils front-end tools. See docs/tools.txt for documentation.
test: Unit tests. Not required to use the software, but very useful if you're planning to modify it. See Running the Test Suite below.
Installation
The first step is to expand the .tar.gz or .tgz archive in a temporary directory (not directly in Python's site-packages). It contains a distutils setup file "setup.py". OS-specific installation instructions follow.
GNU/Linux, BSDs, Unix, Mac OS X, etc.
Open a shell.
Go to the directory created by expanding the archive:
cd <archive_directory_path>
Install the package:
python setup.py install
If the python executable isn't on your path, you'll have to specify the complete path, such as /usr/local/bin/python. You may need root permissions to complete this step.
You can also just run install.py; it does the same thing.
Windows
Open a DOS box (Command Shell, MSDOS Prompt, or whatever they're calling it these days).
Go to the directory created by expanding the archive:
cd <archive_directory_path>
Install the package:
<path_to_python.exe>\python setup.py install
If your system is set up to run Python when you double-click on .py files, you can run install.py to do the same as the above.
Mac OS 8/9
Open the folder containing the expanded archive.
Double-click on the file "setup.py", which should be a "Python module" file.
If the file isn't a "Python module", the line endings are probably also wrong, and you will need to set up your system to recognize ".py" file extensions as Python files. See http://gotools.sourceforge.net/mac/python.html for detailed instructions. Once set up, it's easiest to start over by expanding the archive again.
The distutils options window will appear. From the "Command" popup list choose "install", click "Add", then click "OK".
If install.py is a "Python module" (see step 2 above if it isn't), you can run it (double-click) instead of the above. The distutils options window will not appear.
Usage
After unpacking and installing the Docutils package, the following shell commands will generate HTML for all included documentation:
cd <archive_directory_path>/tools buildhtml.py ../
The final directory name of the <archive_directory_path> is "docutils" for snapshots. For official releases, the directory may be called "docutils-X.Y", where "X.Y" is the release version. Alternatively:
cd <archive_directory_path> tools/buildhtml.py --config=tools/docutils.conf
Some files may generate system messages (warnings and errors). The tools/test.txt file (under the archive directory) contains 5 intentional errors. (They test the error reporting mechanism!)
There are many front-end tools in the unpacked "tools" subdirectory. You may want to begin with the "html.py" front-end tool. Most tools take up to two arguments, the source path and destination path, with STDIN and STDOUT being the defaults. Use the "--help" option to the front-end tools for details on options and arguments. See Docutils Front-End Tools (docs/tools.txt) for full documentation.
The package modules are continually growing and evolving. The docutils.statemachine module is usable independently. It contains extensive inline documentation (in reStructuredText format of course).
Contributions are welcome!
Running the Test Suite
To run the entire test suite, after installation open a shell and use the following commands:
cd <archive_directory_path>/test ./alltests.py
You should see a long line of periods, one for each test, and then a summary like this:
Ran 518 tests in 24.653s OK Elapsed time: 26.189 seconds
The number of tests will grow over time, and the times reported will depend on the computer running the tests. The difference between the two times represents the time required to set up the tests (import modules, create data structures, etc.).
If any of the tests fail, please open a bug report or send email. Please include all relevant output, information about your operating system, Python version, and Docutils version. To see the Docutils version, use these commands:
cd ../tools ./quicktest.py --version
Getting Help
If you have questions or need assistance with Docutils or reStructuredText, please post a message to the Docutils-Users mailing list.