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Merge pull request #5678 from ArtFlag/docs/extension-tutorials
Docs: Extension tutorial portal + helloworld example
This commit is contained in:
commit
55a89196e4
@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ Sphinx documentation contents
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templating
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latex
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extdev/index
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development/tutorials/index
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faq
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glossary
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@ -100,7 +100,7 @@ This is the current list of contributed extensions in that repository:
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- zopeext: provide an ``autointerface`` directive for using `Zope interfaces`_
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See the :ref:`extension tutorial <exttut>` on getting started with writing your
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See the :doc:`extension tutorials <../development/tutorials/index>` on getting started with writing your
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own extensions.
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162
doc/development/tutorials/helloworld.rst
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162
doc/development/tutorials/helloworld.rst
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@ -0,0 +1,162 @@
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Developing a "Hello world" directive
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====================================
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The objective of this tutorial is to create a very basic extension that adds a new
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directive that outputs a paragraph containing `hello world`.
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Only basic information is provided in this tutorial. For more information,
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refer to the :doc:`other tutorials <index>` that go into more
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details.
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.. warning:: For this extension, you will need some basic understanding of docutils_
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and Python.
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Creating a new extension file
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-----------------------------
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Your extension file could be in any folder of your project. In our case,
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let's do the following:
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#. Create an :file:`_ext` folder in :file:`source`.
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#. Create a new Python file in the :file:`_ext` folder called
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:file:`helloworld.py`.
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Here is an example of the folder structure you might obtain:
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.. code-block:: text
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└── source
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├── _ext
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│ └── helloworld.py
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├── _static
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├── _themes
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├── conf.py
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├── somefolder
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├── somefile.rst
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└── someotherfile.rst
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Writing the extension
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---------------------
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Open :file:`helloworld.py` and paste the following code in it:
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.. code-block:: python
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from docutils import nodes
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from docutils.parsers.rst import Directive
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class HelloWorld(Directive):
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def run(self):
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paragraph_node = nodes.paragraph(text='Hello World!')
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return [paragraph_node]
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def setup(app):
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app.add_directive("helloworld", HelloWorld)
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Some essential things are happening in this example, and you will see them
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in all directives:
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.. rubric:: Directive declaration
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Our new directive is declared in the ``HelloWorld`` class, it extends
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docutils_' ``Directive`` class. All extensions that create directives
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should extend this class.
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.. rubric:: ``run`` method
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This method is a requirement and it is part of every directive. It contains
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the main logic of the directive and it returns a list of docutils nodes to
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be processed by Sphinx.
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.. seealso::
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:doc:`todo`
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.. rubric:: docutils nodes
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The ``run`` method returns a list of nodes. Nodes are docutils' way of
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representing the content of a document. There are many types of nodes
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available: text, paragraph, reference, table, etc.
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.. seealso::
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`The docutils documentation on nodes <docutils nodes>`_
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The ``nodes.paragraph`` class creates a new paragraph node. A paragraph
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node typically contains some text that we can set during instantiation using
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the ``text`` parameter.
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.. rubric:: ``setup`` function
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This function is a requirement. We use it to plug our new directive into
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Sphinx.
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The simplest thing you can do it call the ``app.add_directive`` method.
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.. note::
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The first argument is the name of the directive itself as used in an rST file.
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In our case, we would use ``helloworld``:
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.. code-block:: rst
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Some intro text here...
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.. helloworld::
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Some more text here...
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Updating the conf.py file
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-------------------------
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The extension file has to be declared in your :file:`conf.py` file to make
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Sphinx aware of it:
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#. Open :file:`conf.py`. It is in the :file:`source` folder by default.
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#. Add ``sys.path.append(os.path.abspath("./_ext"))`` before
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the ``extensions`` variable declaration (if it exists).
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#. Update or create the ``extensions`` list and add the
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extension file name to the list:
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.. code-block:: python
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extensions.append('helloworld')
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You can now use the extension.
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.. admonition:: Example
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.. code-block:: rst
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Some intro text here...
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.. helloworld::
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Some more text here...
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The sample above would generate:
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.. code-block:: text
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Some intro text here...
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Hello World!
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Some more text here...
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This is the very basic principle of an extension that creates a new directive.
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For a more advanced example, refer to :doc:`todo`.
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Further reading
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---------------
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You can create your own nodes if needed, refer to the
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:doc:`todo` for more information.
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.. _docutils: http://docutils.sourceforge.net/
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.. _`docutils nodes`: http://docutils.sourceforge.net/docs/ref/doctree.html
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11
doc/development/tutorials/index.rst
Normal file
11
doc/development/tutorials/index.rst
Normal file
@ -0,0 +1,11 @@
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Extension tutorials
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===================
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Refer to the following tutorials to get started with extension development.
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.. toctree::
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:caption: Directive tutorials
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:maxdepth: 1
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helloworld
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todo
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@ -1,7 +1,5 @@
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.. _exttut:
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Tutorial: Writing a simple extension
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====================================
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Developing a "TODO" extension
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=============================
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This section is intended as a walkthrough for the creation of custom extensions.
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It covers the basics of writing and activating an extension, as well as
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@ -12,112 +10,12 @@ include todo entries in the documentation, and to collect these in a central
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place. (A similar "todo" extension is distributed with Sphinx.)
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Important objects
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-----------------
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There are several key objects whose API you will use while writing an
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extension. These are:
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**Application**
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The application object (usually called ``app``) is an instance of
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:class:`.Sphinx`. It controls most high-level functionality, such as the
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setup of extensions, event dispatching and producing output (logging).
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If you have the environment object, the application is available as
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``env.app``.
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**Environment**
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The build environment object (usually called ``env``) is an instance of
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:class:`.BuildEnvironment`. It is responsible for parsing the source
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documents, stores all metadata about the document collection and is
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serialized to disk after each build.
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Its API provides methods to do with access to metadata, resolving references,
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etc. It can also be used by extensions to cache information that should
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persist for incremental rebuilds.
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If you have the application or builder object, the environment is available
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as ``app.env`` or ``builder.env``.
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**Builder**
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The builder object (usually called ``builder``) is an instance of a specific
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subclass of :class:`.Builder`. Each builder class knows how to convert the
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parsed documents into an output format, or otherwise process them (e.g. check
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external links).
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If you have the application object, the builder is available as
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``app.builder``.
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**Config**
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The config object (usually called ``config``) provides the values of
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configuration values set in :file:`conf.py` as attributes. It is an instance
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of :class:`.Config`.
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The config is available as ``app.config`` or ``env.config``.
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Build Phases
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------------
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One thing that is vital in order to understand extension mechanisms is the way
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in which a Sphinx project is built: this works in several phases.
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**Phase 0: Initialization**
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In this phase, almost nothing of interest to us happens. The source
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directory is searched for source files, and extensions are initialized.
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Should a stored build environment exist, it is loaded, otherwise a new one is
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created.
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**Phase 1: Reading**
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In Phase 1, all source files (and on subsequent builds, those that are new or
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changed) are read and parsed. This is the phase where directives and roles
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are encountered by docutils, and the corresponding code is executed. The
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output of this phase is a *doctree* for each source file; that is a tree of
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docutils nodes. For document elements that aren't fully known until all
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existing files are read, temporary nodes are created.
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There are nodes provided by docutils, which are documented `in the docutils
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documentation <http://docutils.sourceforge.net/docs/ref/doctree.html>`__.
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Additional nodes are provided by Sphinx and :ref:`documented here <nodes>`.
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During reading, the build environment is updated with all meta- and cross
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reference data of the read documents, such as labels, the names of headings,
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described Python objects and index entries. This will later be used to
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replace the temporary nodes.
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The parsed doctrees are stored on the disk, because it is not possible to
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hold all of them in memory.
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**Phase 2: Consistency checks**
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Some checking is done to ensure no surprises in the built documents.
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**Phase 3: Resolving**
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Now that the metadata and cross-reference data of all existing documents is
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known, all temporary nodes are replaced by nodes that can be converted into
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output using components called tranform. For example, links are created for
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object references that exist, and simple literal nodes are created for those
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that don't.
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**Phase 4: Writing**
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This phase converts the resolved doctrees to the desired output format, such
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as HTML or LaTeX. This happens via a so-called docutils writer that visits
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the individual nodes of each doctree and produces some output in the process.
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.. note::
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Some builders deviate from this general build plan, for example, the builder
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that checks external links does not need anything more than the parsed
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doctrees and therefore does not have phases 2--4.
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Extension Design
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----------------
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.. note:: To understand the design this extension, refer to
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:ref:`important-objects` and :ref:`build-phases`.
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We want the extension to add the following to Sphinx:
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* A "todo" directive, containing some content that is marked with "TODO", and
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@ -174,12 +72,13 @@ the individual calls do is the following:
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If the third argument was ``'html'``, HTML documents would be full rebuild if the
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config value changed its value. This is needed for config values that
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influence reading (build phase 1).
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influence reading (build :ref:`phase 1 <build-phases>`).
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* :meth:`~Sphinx.add_node` adds a new *node class* to the build system. It also
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can specify visitor functions for each supported output format. These visitor
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functions are needed when the new nodes stay until phase 4 -- since the
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``todolist`` node is always replaced in phase 3, it doesn't need any.
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functions are needed when the new nodes stay until :ref:`phase 4 <build-phases>`
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-- since the ``todolist`` node is always replaced in :ref:`phase 3 <build-phases>`,
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it doesn't need any.
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We need to create the two node classes ``todo`` and ``todolist`` later.
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@ -276,7 +175,7 @@ The ``todo`` directive function looks like this::
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return [targetnode, todo_node]
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Several important things are covered here. First, as you can see, you can refer
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to the build environment instance using ``self.state.document.settings.env``.
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to the :ref:`build environment instance <important-objects>` using ``self.state.document.settings.env``.
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Then, to act as a link target (from the todolist), the todo directive needs to
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return a target node in addition to the todo node. The target ID (in HTML, this
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@ -340,7 +239,8 @@ Here we clear out all todos whose docname matches the given one from the
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added again during parsing.
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The other handler belongs to the :event:`doctree-resolved` event. This event is
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emitted at the end of phase 3 and allows custom resolving to be done::
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emitted at the end of :ref:`phase 3 <build-phases>` and allows custom resolving
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to be done::
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def process_todo_nodes(app, doctree, fromdocname):
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if not app.config.todo_include_todos:
|
@ -52,6 +52,115 @@ Note that it is still necessary to register the builder using
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.. _entry points: https://setuptools.readthedocs.io/en/latest/setuptools.html#dynamic-discovery-of-services-and-plugins
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.. _important-objects:
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Important objects
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-----------------
|
||||
|
||||
There are several key objects whose API you will use while writing an
|
||||
extension. These are:
|
||||
|
||||
**Application**
|
||||
The application object (usually called ``app``) is an instance of
|
||||
:class:`.Sphinx`. It controls most high-level functionality, such as the
|
||||
setup of extensions, event dispatching and producing output (logging).
|
||||
|
||||
If you have the environment object, the application is available as
|
||||
``env.app``.
|
||||
|
||||
**Environment**
|
||||
The build environment object (usually called ``env``) is an instance of
|
||||
:class:`.BuildEnvironment`. It is responsible for parsing the source
|
||||
documents, stores all metadata about the document collection and is
|
||||
serialized to disk after each build.
|
||||
|
||||
Its API provides methods to do with access to metadata, resolving references,
|
||||
etc. It can also be used by extensions to cache information that should
|
||||
persist for incremental rebuilds.
|
||||
|
||||
If you have the application or builder object, the environment is available
|
||||
as ``app.env`` or ``builder.env``.
|
||||
|
||||
**Builder**
|
||||
The builder object (usually called ``builder``) is an instance of a specific
|
||||
subclass of :class:`.Builder`. Each builder class knows how to convert the
|
||||
parsed documents into an output format, or otherwise process them (e.g. check
|
||||
external links).
|
||||
|
||||
If you have the application object, the builder is available as
|
||||
``app.builder``.
|
||||
|
||||
**Config**
|
||||
The config object (usually called ``config``) provides the values of
|
||||
configuration values set in :file:`conf.py` as attributes. It is an instance
|
||||
of :class:`.Config`.
|
||||
|
||||
The config is available as ``app.config`` or ``env.config``.
|
||||
|
||||
To see an example of use of these objects, refer to :doc:`../development/tutorials/index`.
|
||||
|
||||
.. _build-phases:
|
||||
|
||||
Build Phases
|
||||
------------
|
||||
|
||||
One thing that is vital in order to understand extension mechanisms is the way
|
||||
in which a Sphinx project is built: this works in several phases.
|
||||
|
||||
**Phase 0: Initialization**
|
||||
|
||||
In this phase, almost nothing of interest to us happens. The source
|
||||
directory is searched for source files, and extensions are initialized.
|
||||
Should a stored build environment exist, it is loaded, otherwise a new one is
|
||||
created.
|
||||
|
||||
**Phase 1: Reading**
|
||||
|
||||
In Phase 1, all source files (and on subsequent builds, those that are new or
|
||||
changed) are read and parsed. This is the phase where directives and roles
|
||||
are encountered by docutils, and the corresponding code is executed. The
|
||||
output of this phase is a *doctree* for each source file; that is a tree of
|
||||
docutils nodes. For document elements that aren't fully known until all
|
||||
existing files are read, temporary nodes are created.
|
||||
|
||||
There are nodes provided by docutils, which are documented `in the docutils
|
||||
documentation <http://docutils.sourceforge.net/docs/ref/doctree.html>`__.
|
||||
Additional nodes are provided by Sphinx and :ref:`documented here <nodes>`.
|
||||
|
||||
During reading, the build environment is updated with all meta- and cross
|
||||
reference data of the read documents, such as labels, the names of headings,
|
||||
described Python objects and index entries. This will later be used to
|
||||
replace the temporary nodes.
|
||||
|
||||
The parsed doctrees are stored on the disk, because it is not possible to
|
||||
hold all of them in memory.
|
||||
|
||||
**Phase 2: Consistency checks**
|
||||
|
||||
Some checking is done to ensure no surprises in the built documents.
|
||||
|
||||
**Phase 3: Resolving**
|
||||
|
||||
Now that the metadata and cross-reference data of all existing documents is
|
||||
known, all temporary nodes are replaced by nodes that can be converted into
|
||||
output using components called tranform. For example, links are created for
|
||||
object references that exist, and simple literal nodes are created for those
|
||||
that don't.
|
||||
|
||||
**Phase 4: Writing**
|
||||
|
||||
This phase converts the resolved doctrees to the desired output format, such
|
||||
as HTML or LaTeX. This happens via a so-called docutils writer that visits
|
||||
the individual nodes of each doctree and produces some output in the process.
|
||||
|
||||
.. note::
|
||||
|
||||
Some builders deviate from this general build plan, for example, the builder
|
||||
that checks external links does not need anything more than the parsed
|
||||
doctrees and therefore does not have phases 2--4.
|
||||
|
||||
To see an example of application, refer to :doc:`../development/tutorials/todo`.
|
||||
|
||||
.. _ext-metadata:
|
||||
|
||||
Extension metadata
|
||||
@ -82,8 +191,8 @@ APIs used for writing extensions
|
||||
--------------------------------
|
||||
|
||||
.. toctree::
|
||||
:maxdepth: 2
|
||||
|
||||
tutorial
|
||||
appapi
|
||||
projectapi
|
||||
envapi
|
||||
|
@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ How do I...
|
||||
``sidebartoc`` block.
|
||||
|
||||
... write my own extension?
|
||||
See the :ref:`extension tutorial <exttut>`.
|
||||
See the :doc:`/development/tutorials/index`.
|
||||
|
||||
... convert from my existing docs using MoinMoin markup?
|
||||
The easiest way is to convert to xhtml, then convert `xhtml to reST`_.
|
||||
|
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Block a user