[Doc-SIG] SGML Python docs

[John Skaller]

At 11:56 5/09/98 +0100, Laurence Tratt wrote:
>A while ago (around Easter time), it was said that the Python documentation
>(manual reference, etc) would at some point be converted to SGML. 
>
>Around the same time, I posted a version of the manuals in a new HTML
>format using a quick PythonManualLaTeX -> x converter 

>So I was wondering if any progress has been made with converting the LaTeX
>source to SGML, which would be the "manual source" of the future, so to
>speak? 

        Well, it is possible I think with the new Latex format,
which is clean and comparatively well formalised, to produce
a parser filter for Interscript which will generate any of the
interscript supported formats, including Latex and HTML.

        This could also generate 'pure SGML' or 'XML' if a suitable
weaver were constructed. 

        Interscript can already parse SGML and map it to interscript
functions and thence to any format for which there is a weaver, including
Latex and HTML.

>Basically, I would imagine I'm not the only person who's keen to see the
>SGML documentation at some point, so if anyone could let me - and
>presumably some other people on this sig who are also interested - know
>what the expected time schedule is, I would be grateful.

        You will first have to get Guido and others to give up their
pet formats -- be it Latex or Frame maker.

        Or you could consider the alternative -- to literate program
the whole of Python using interscript, which would serve to guarrantee
at least that _all_ the code was documented, even if only by stubs
'yet to be documented'.

        An XML weaver is on my 'todo' list.
I've also been considering a Latex input filter for some time, precisely
for the purpose of mapping the Python Latex documentation. 

        [I'm also gradually absorbing python modules into interscript,
because I need non-python programmers to be able to use Python
quickly to program interscript, and hence I need the 'standard' modules
documented adequately. This will take some time, and doesn't solve
the problem for Python programmers.]
-------------------------------------------------------
John Skaller    email: skaller@maxtal.com.au
		http://www.maxtal.com.au/~skaller
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