summaryrefslogtreecommitdiffstats
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
authorFred Drake <fdrake@acm.org>1999-03-16 16:09:13 (GMT)
committerFred Drake <fdrake@acm.org>1999-03-16 16:09:13 (GMT)
commitacffaee46e85a9636cdf44364368272c3f991534 (patch)
tree48945a7c656e48e87a3a1dc69d8c52993b0ae9db
parent1d8f07acbd9516ed971c38067b0b2977b2f429e6 (diff)
downloadcpython-acffaee46e85a9636cdf44364368272c3f991534.zip
cpython-acffaee46e85a9636cdf44364368272c3f991534.tar.gz
cpython-acffaee46e85a9636cdf44364368272c3f991534.tar.bz2
New document: "Documenting Python".
-rw-r--r--Doc/doc/doc.tex644
1 files changed, 644 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Doc/doc/doc.tex b/Doc/doc/doc.tex
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a2d0336
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Doc/doc/doc.tex
@@ -0,0 +1,644 @@
+\documentclass{howto}
+\usepackage{ltxmarkup}
+
+\title{Documenting Python}
+
+\input{boilerplate}
+
+% Now override the stuff that includes author information:
+
+\author{Fred L. Drake, Jr.}
+\authoraddress{
+ Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI) \\
+ 1895 Preston White Drive, Reston, Va 20191, USA \\
+ E-mail: \email{fdrake@acm.org}
+}
+\date{\today}
+
+
+\begin{document}
+
+\maketitle
+
+\begin{abstract}
+\noindent
+The Python language documentation has a substantial body of
+documentation, much of it contributed by various authors. The markup
+used for the Python documentation is based on \LaTeX{} and requires a
+significant set of macros written specifically for documenting Python.
+Maintaining the documentation requires substantial effort, in part
+because selecting the correct markup to use is not always easy.
+
+This document describes the document classes and special markup used
+in the Python documentation. Authors may use this guide, in
+conjunction with the template files provided with the
+distribution, to create or maintain whole documents or sections.
+\end{abstract}
+
+\tableofcontents
+
+
+\section{Introduction}
+
+ Python's documentation has long been considered to be good for a
+ free programming language. There are a number of reasons for this,
+ the most important being the early commitment of Python's creator,
+ Guido van Rossum, to providing documentation on the language and its
+ libraries, and the continuing involvement of the user community in
+ providing assistance for creating and maintaining documentation.
+
+ The involvement of the community takes many forms, from authoring to
+ bug reports to just plain complaining when aspects of the
+ documentation could be easier to use. All of these forms of input
+ from the community have proved useful during the time I've been
+ involved in maintaining the documentation.
+
+ [Who is this document for?]
+
+ [What does it cover?]
+
+\section{Directory Structure}
+
+ The source distribution for the standard Python documentation
+ contains a large number of directories. While third-party documents
+ do not need to be placed into this structure or need to be placed
+ within a similar structure, it can be helpful to know where to look
+ for examples and tools when developing new documents using the
+ Python documentation tools. This section describes this directory
+ structure.
+
+ The documentation sources are usually placed within the Python
+ source distribution as the top-level subdirectory \file{Doc/}, but
+ is independent of the Python source distribution.
+
+ The \file{Doc/} directory contains a few files and several
+ subdirectories. The files are mostly self-explanatory, including a
+ \file{README} and a \file{Makefile}. The directories fall into
+ three categories:
+
+ \begin{definitions}
+ \term{Document Sources}
+ The \LaTeX{} sources for each document are placed in a
+ separate directory. These directories are given short,
+ three-character names.
+
+ \term{Format-Specific Output}
+ Most output formats have a directory provided which contains a
+ \file{Makefile} which controls the generation of that format
+ and provides storage for the formatted documents. The only
+ variation within this category is the Portable Document Format
+ (PDF) and PostScript versions are placed in the directories
+ \file{paper-a4/} and \file{paper-letter/}.
+
+ \term{Supplemental Files}
+ Some additional directories are used to store supplemental
+ files used for the various processes. Directories are
+ included for the shared \LaTeX{} document classes, the
+ \LaTeX2HTML support, template files for various document
+ components, and the scripts used to perform various steps in
+ the formatting processes.
+ \end{definitions}
+
+\section{Document Classes}
+
+ Two \LaTeX{} document classes are defined specifically for use with
+ the Python documentation. The \code{manual} class is for large
+ documents which are sectioned into chapters, and the \code{howto}
+ class is for smaller documents.
+
+ The \code{manual} documents are larger and are used for most of the
+ standard documents. This document class is based on the standard
+ \LaTeX{} \code{report} class and is formatted very much like a long
+ technical report.
+
+ The \code{howto} documents are shorter, and don't have the large
+ structure of the \code{manual} documents. This class is based on
+ the standard \LaTeX{} \code{article} class and is formatted somewhat
+ like the Linux Documentation Project's ``HOWTO'' series as done
+ originally using the LinuxDoc software. The original intent for the
+ document class was that it serve a similar role as the LDP's HOWTO
+ series, but the applicability of the class turns out to be somewhat
+ more broad. This class is used for ``how-to'' documents (this
+ document is an example) and for shorter reference manuals for small,
+ fairly cohesive module libraries. Examples of the later use include
+ the standard \emph{Macintosh Library Modules} and \emph{Using
+ Kerberos from Python}, which contains reference material for an
+ extension package. These documents are roughly equivalent to a
+ single chapter from a larger work.
+
+
+\section{Python-specific Markup}
+
+ \subsection{Information Units \label{info-units}}
+
+ Most of the environments should be described here: \env{excdesc},
+ \env{funcdesc}, etc.
+
+ \begin{envdesc}{datadesc}{\{\var{name}\}}
+ \end{envdesc}
+ \begin{envdesc}{datadesc}{\{\var{name}\}}
+ Like \env{datadesc}, but without creating any index entries.
+ \end{envdesc}
+
+ \begin{envdesc}{excdesc}{\{\var{name}\}}
+ Describe an exception. This may be either a string exception or
+ a class exception.
+ \end{envdesc}
+
+ \begin{envdesc}{funcdesc}{\{\var{name}\}\{\var{parameter list}\}}
+ \end{envdesc}
+ \begin{envdesc}{funcdescni}{\{\var{name}\}\{\var{parameter list}\}}
+ Like \env{funcdesc}, but without creating any index entries.
+ \end{envdesc}
+
+ \begin{envdesc}{classdesc}{\{\var{name}\}\{\var{constructor parameter list}\}}
+ \end{envdesc}
+
+ \begin{envdesc}{memberdesc}{\{\var{name}\}}
+ \end{envdesc}
+ \begin{envdesc}{memberdescni}{\{\var{name}\}}
+ Like \env{memberdesc}, but without creating any index entries.
+ \end{envdesc}
+
+ \begin{envdesc}{methoddesc}{{[}\var{class name}{]}\{\var{name}\}\{\var{parameter list}\}}
+ \end{envdesc}
+ \begin{envdesc}{methoddescni}{{[}\var{class name}{]}\{\var{name}\}\{\var{parameter list}\}}
+ Like \env{methoddesc}, but without creating any index entries.
+ \end{envdesc}
+
+
+ \subsection{Inline Markup}
+
+ This is where to explain \macro{code}, \macro{function},
+ \macro{email}, etc.
+
+
+ \subsection{Module-specific Markup}
+
+ The markup described in this section is used to provide information
+ about a module being documented. A typical use of this markup
+ appears at the top of the section used to document a module. A
+ typical example might look like this:
+
+\begin{verbatim}
+\section{\module{spam} ---
+ Access to the SPAM facility}
+
+\declaremodule{extension}{spam}
+ \platform{SomeOS}
+\modulesynopsis{Access to the SPAM facility of SomeOS.}
+\moduleauthor{John Doe}{john.doe@frobnication.org}
+\end{verbatim}
+
+ \begin{macrodesc}{declaremodule}{{[}\var{key}{]}\{\var{type}\}\{\var{name}\}}
+ Requires two parameters: module type (standard, builtin,
+ extension), and the module name. An optional parameter should be
+ given as the basis for the module's ``key'' used for linking to or
+ referencing the section. The ``key'' should only be given if the
+ module's name contains underscores, and should be the name with the
+ underscore's stripped. This should be the first thing after the
+ \macro{section} used to introduce the module.
+ \end{macrodesc}
+
+ \begin{macrodesc}{platform}{\{\var{specifier}\}}
+ Specifies the portability of the module. \var{specifier} is a
+ comma-separated list of keys that specify what platforms the
+ module is available on. The keys are short identifiers;
+ examples that are in use include \samp{IRIX}, \samp{Mac},
+ \samp{Windows}, and \samp{Unix}. It is important to use a key
+ which has already been used when applicable.
+ \end{macrodesc}
+
+ \begin{macrodesc}{modulesynopsis}{\{\var{text}\}}
+ The \var{text} is a short, ``one line'' description of the
+ module that can be used as part of the chapter introduction.
+ This is typically placed just after \macro{declaremodule}.
+ The synopsis is used in building the contents of the table
+ inserted as the \macro{localmoduletable}. No text is
+ produced at the point of the markup.
+ \end{macrodesc}
+
+ \begin{macrodesc}{moduleauthor}{\{\var{name}\}\{\var{email}\}}
+ This macro is used to encode information about who authored a
+ module. This is currently not used to generate output, but can be
+ used to help determine the origin of the module.
+ \end{macrodesc}
+
+
+ \subsection{Library-level Markup}
+
+ This markup is used when describing a selection of modules. For
+ example, the \emph{Macintosh Library Modules} document uses this
+ to help provide an overview of the modules in the collection, and
+ many chapters in the \emph{Python Library Reference} use it for
+ the same purpose.
+
+ \begin{macrodesc}{localmoduletable}{}
+ No parameters. If a \file{.syn} file exists for the current
+ chapter (or for the entire document in \code{howto} documents), a
+ \env{synopsistable} is created with the contents loaded from the
+ \file{.syn} file.
+ \end{macrodesc}
+
+
+ \subsection{Table Markup}
+
+ There are three general-purpose table environments defined which
+ should be used whenever possible. These environments are defined
+ to provide tables of specific widths and some convenience for
+ formatting. These environments are not meant to be general
+ replacements for the standard \LaTeX{} table environments, but can
+ be used for an advantage when the documents are processed using
+ the tools for Python documentation processing. In particular, the
+ generated HTML looks good! There is also an advantage for the
+ eventual conversion of the documentation to SGML; see Section
+ \ref{futures}, ``Future Directions.''
+
+ Each environment is named \env{table\var{cols}}, where \var{cols}
+ is the number of columns in the table specified in lower-case
+ Roman numerals. Within each of these environments, an additional
+ macro, \macro{line\var{cols}}, is defined, where \var{cols}
+ matches the \var{cols} value of the corresponding table
+ environment. These environments are all built on top of the
+ \env{tabular} environment.
+
+ \begin{envdesc}{tableii}{\{\var{colspec}\}\{\var{col1font}\}\{\var{heading1}\}\{\var{heading2}\}}
+ Create a two-column table using the \LaTeX{} column specifier
+ \var{colspec}. The column specifier should indicate vertical
+ bars between columns as appropriate for the specific table, but
+ should not specify vertical bars on the outside of the table
+ (that is considered a stylesheet issue). The \var{col1font}
+ parameter is used as a stylistic treatment of the first column
+ of the table: the first column is presented as
+ \code{\e\var{col1font}\{column1\}}. To avoid treating the first
+ column specially, \var{col1font} may be \code{textrm}. The
+ column headings are taken from the values \var{heading1} and
+ \var{heading2}.
+ \end{envdesc}
+
+ \begin{macrodesc}{lineii}{\{\var{column1}\}\{\var{column2}\}}
+ Create a single table row within a \env{tableii} environment.
+ The text for the first column will be generated by applying the
+ macro named by the \var{col1font} value when the \env{tableii}
+ was opened.
+ \end{macrodesc}
+
+ \begin{envdesc}{tableiii}{\{\var{colspec}\}\{\var{col1font}\}\{\var{heading1}\}\{\var{heading2}\}\{\var{heading3}\}}
+ Like the \env{tableii} environment, but with a third column.
+ The heading for the third column is given by \var{heading3}.
+ \end{envdesc}
+
+ \begin{macrodesc}{lineiii}{\{\var{column1}\}\{\var{column2}\}\{\var{column3}\}}
+ Like the \macro{lineii} macro, but with a third column. The
+ text for the third column is given by \var{column3}.
+ \end{macrodesc}
+
+ \begin{envdesc}{tableiv}{\{\var{colspec}\}\{\var{col1font}\}\{\var{heading1}\}\{\var{heading2}\}\{\var{heading3}\}\{\var{heading4}\}}
+ Like the \env{tableiii} environment, but with a fourth column.
+ The heading for the fourth column is given by \var{heading4}.
+ \end{envdesc}
+
+ \begin{macrodesc}{lineiv}{\{\var{column1}\}\{\var{column2}\}\{\var{column3}\}\{\var{column4}\}}
+ Like the \macro{lineiii} macro, but with a fourth column. The
+ text for the fourth column is given by \var{column4}.
+ \end{macrodesc}
+
+
+ An additional table-like environment is \env{synopsistable}. The
+ table generated by this environment contains two columns, and each
+ row is defined by an alternate definition of
+ \macro{modulesynopsis}. This environment is not normally use by
+ the user, but is created by the \macro{localmoduletable} macro.
+
+
+ \subsection{Reference List Markup \label{references}}
+
+ Many sections include a list of references to module documentation
+ or external documents. These lists are created using the
+ \env{seealso} environment. This environment defines some
+ additional macros to support creating reference entries in a
+ reasonable manner.
+
+ \begin{envdesc}{seealso}{}
+ This environment creates a ``See also:'' heading and defines the
+ markup used to describe individual references.
+ \end{envdesc}
+
+ \begin{macrodesc}{seemodule}{{[}\var{key}{]}\{\var{name}\}\{\var{why}\}}
+ Refer to another module. \var{why} should be a brief
+ explanation of why the reference may be interesting. The module
+ name is given in \var{name}, with the link key given in
+ \var{key} if necessary. In the HTML and PDF conversions, the
+ module name will be a hyperlink to the referred-to module.
+ \end{macrodesc}
+
+ \begin{macrodesc}{seetext}{\{\var{text}\}}
+ Add arbitrary text \var{text} to the ``See also:'' list. This
+ can be used to refer to off-line materials or on-line materials
+ using the \macro{url} macro.
+ \end{macrodesc}
+
+
+ \subsection{Index-generating Markup \label{indexing}}
+
+ Effective index generation for technical documents can be very
+ difficult, especially for someone familliar with the topic but not
+ the creation of indexes. Much of the difficulty arises in the
+ area of terminology: including the terms an expert would use for a
+ concept is not sufficient. Coming up with the terms that a novice
+ would look up is fairly difficult for an author who, hopefully, is
+ an expert in the area she is writing on.
+
+ The truly difficult aspects of index generation are not something
+ which the documentation tools can help with, unfortunately. Ease
+ of producing the index once content decisions are make is within
+ the scope of the tools. Markup is provided which the processing
+ software is able to use to generate a variety of kinds of index
+ entry with minimal effort. Additionally, many of the environments
+ described in Section \ref{info-units}, ``Information Units,'' will
+ generate appropriate entries into the general and module indexes.
+
+ The following macro can be used to control the generation of index
+ data, and should be used in the document prologue:
+
+ \begin{macrodesc}{makemodindex}{}
+ This should be used in the document prologue if a ``Module
+ Index'' is desired for a document containing reference material
+ on many modules. This causes a data file
+ \code{lib\macro{jobname}.idx} to be created from the
+ \macro{declaremodule} macros. This file can be processed by the
+ \program{makeindex} program to generate a file which can be
+ \macro{input} into the document at the desired location of the
+ module index.
+ \end{macrodesc}
+
+ There are a number of macros that are useful for adding index
+ entries for particular concepts, many of which are specific to
+ programming languages or even Python.
+
+ \begin{macrodesc}{bifuncindex}{\{\var{name}\}}
+ \end{macrodesc}
+
+ \begin{macrodesc}{exindex}{\{\var{exception}\}}
+ \end{macrodesc}
+
+ \begin{macrodesc}{kwindex}{\{\var{keyword}\}}
+ \end{macrodesc}
+
+ \begin{macrodesc}{obindex}{\{\var{object type}\}}
+ \end{macrodesc}
+
+ \begin{macrodesc}{opindex}{\{\var{operator}\}}
+ \end{macrodesc}
+
+ \begin{macrodesc}{refmodindex}{{[}\var{key}{]}\{\var{module}\}}
+ Add an index entry for module \var{module}; if \var{module}
+ contains an underscore, the optional parameter \var{key} should
+ be provided as the same string with underscores removed. An
+ index entry ``\var{module} (module)'' will be generated. This
+ is intended for use with non-standard modules implemented in
+ Python.
+ \end{macrodesc}
+
+ \begin{macrodesc}{refexmodindex}{{[}\var{key}{]}\{\var{module}\}}
+ As for \macro{refmodindex}, but the index entry will be
+ ``\var{module} (extension module).'' This is intended for use
+ with non-standard modules not implemented in Python.
+ \end{macrodesc}
+
+ \begin{macrodesc}{refbimodindex}{{[}\var{key}{]}\{\var{module}\}}
+ As for \macro{refmodindex}, but the index entry will be
+ ``\var{module} (built-in module).'' This is intended for use
+ with standard modules not implemented in Python.
+ \end{macrodesc}
+
+ \begin{macrodesc}{refstmodindex}{{[}\var{key}{]}\{\var{module}\}}
+ As for \macro{refmodindex}, but the index entry will be
+ ``\var{module} (standard module).'' This is intended for use
+ with standard modules implemented in Python.
+ \end{macrodesc}
+
+ \begin{macrodesc}{stindex}{\{\var{statement}\}}
+ \end{macrodesc}
+
+
+ Additional macros are provided which are useful for conveniently
+ creating general index entries which should appear at many places
+ in the index by rotating a list of words. These are simple macros
+ that simply use \macro{index} to build some number of index
+ entries. Index entries build using these macros contain both
+ primary and secondary text.
+
+ \begin{macrodesc}{indexii}{\{\var{word1}\}\{\var{word2}\}}
+ Build two index entries. This is exactly equivalent to using
+ \code{\e index\{\var{word1}!\var{word2}\}} and
+ \code{\e index\{\var{word2}!\var{word1}\}}.
+ \end{macrodesc}
+
+ \begin{macrodesc}{indexiii}{\{\var{word1}\}\{\var{word2}\}\{\var{word3}\}}
+ Build three index entries. This is exactly equivalent to using
+ \code{\e index\{\var{word1}!\var{word2} \var{word3}\}},
+ \code{\e index\{\var{word2}!\var{word3}, \var{word1}\}}, and
+ \code{\e index\{\var{word3}!\var{word1} \var{word2}\}}.
+ \end{macrodesc}
+
+ \begin{macrodesc}{indexiv}{\{\var{word1}\}\{\var{word2}\}\{\var{word3}\}\{\var{word4}\}}
+ Build four index entries. This is exactly equivalent to using
+ \code{\e index\{\var{word1}!\var{word2} \var{word3} \var{word4}\}},
+ \code{\e index\{\var{word2}!\var{word3} \var{word4}, \var{word1}\}},
+ \code{\e index\{\var{word3}!\var{word4}, \var{word1} \var{word2}\}},
+ and
+ \code{\e index\{\var{word4}!\var{word1} \var{word2} \var{word3}\}}.
+ \end{macrodesc}
+
+
+\section{Special Names}
+
+ Many special names are used in the Python documentation, including
+ the names of operating systems, programming languages, standards
+ bodies, and the like. Many of these were assigned \LaTeX{} macros
+ at some point in the distant past, and these macros lived on long
+ past their usefulness. In the current markup, these entities are
+ not assigned any special markup, but the preferred spellings are
+ given here to aid authors in maintaining the consistency of
+ presentation in the Python documentation.
+
+ \begin{description}
+ \item[POSIX]
+ The name assigned to a particular group of standards. This is
+ always uppercase.
+
+ \item[Python]
+ The name of our favorite programming language is always
+ capitalized.
+ \end{description}
+
+
+\section{Processing Tools}
+
+ \subsection{External Tools}
+
+ Many tools are needed to be able to process the Python
+ documentation if all supported formats are required. This
+ section lists the tools used and when each is required.
+
+ \begin{description}
+ \item[\program{dvips}]
+ This program is a typical part of \TeX{} installations. It is
+ used to generate PostScript from the ``device independent''
+ \file{.dvi} files. It is only needed for the conversion to
+ PostScript.
+
+ \item[\program{emacs}]
+ Emacs is the kitchen sink of programmers' editors, and a damn
+ fine kitchen sink it is. It also comes with some of the
+ processing needed to support the proper menu structures for
+ Texinfo documents when an info conversion is desired. This is
+ only needed for the info conversion. Using \program{xemacs}
+ instead of FSF \program{emacs} may lead to instability in the
+ conversion, but that's because nobody seems to maintain the
+ Emacs Texinfo code in a portable manner.
+
+ \item[\program{latex}]
+ This is a world-class typesetter by Donald Knuth. It is used
+ for the conversion to PostScript, and is needed for the HTML
+ conversion as well (\LaTeX2HTML requires one of the
+ intermediate files it creates).
+
+ \item[\program{latex2html}]
+ Probably the longest Perl script anyone ever attempted to
+ maintain. This converts \LaTeX{} documents to HTML documents,
+ and does a pretty reasonable job. It is required for the
+ conversions to HTML and GNU info.
+
+ \item[\program{lynx}]
+ This is a text-mode Web browser which includes an
+ HTML-to-plain text conversion. This is used to convert
+ \code{howto} documents to text.
+
+ \item[\program{make}]
+ Just about any version should work for the standard documents,
+ but GNU \program{make} is required for the experimental
+ processes in \file{Doc/tools/sgmlconv/}, at least while
+ they're experimental.
+
+ \item[\program{makeindex}]
+ This is a standard program for converting \LaTeX{} index data
+ to a formatted index; it should be included with all \LaTeX{}
+ installations. It is needed for the PDF and PostScript
+ conversions.
+
+ \item[\program{makeinfo}]
+ GNU \program{makeinfo} is used to convert Texinfo documents to
+ GNU info files. Since Texinfo is used as an intermediate
+ format in the info conversion, this program is needed in that
+ conversion.
+
+ \item[\program{pdflatex}]
+ pdf\TeX{} is a relatively new variant of \TeX, and is used to
+ generate the PDF version of the manuals. It is typically
+ installed as part of most of the large \TeX{} distributions.
+ \program{pdflatex} is PDF\TeX{} using the \LaTeX{} format.
+
+ \item[\program{perl}]
+ Perl is required for \LaTeX2HTML{} and one of the scripts used
+ to post-process \LaTeX2HTML output, as well as the
+ HTML-to-Texinfo conversion. This is only required for
+ the HTML and GNU info conversions.
+
+ \item[\program{python}]
+ Python is used for many of the scripts in the
+ \file{Doc/tools/} directory; it is required for all
+ conversions. This shouldn't be a problem if you're interested
+ in writing documentation for Python!
+ \end{description}
+
+
+ \subsection{Internal Tools}
+
+ This section describes the various scripts that are used to
+ implement various stages of document processing or to orchestrate
+ entire build sequences. Most of these tools are still only useful
+ in the context of building the standard documentation, but some
+ are more general.
+
+ \begin{description}
+ \item[\program{mkhowto}]
+ \end{description}
+
+
+\section{Future Directions \label{futures}}
+
+ The history of the Python documentation is full of changes, most of
+ which have been fairly small and evolutionary. There has been a
+ great deal of discussion about making large changes in the markup
+ languages and tools used to process the documentation. This section
+ deals with the nature of the changes and what appears to be the most
+ likely path of future development.
+
+ \subsection{Structured Documentation \label{structured}}
+
+ Most of the small changes to the \LaTeX{} markup have been made
+ with an eye to divorcing the markup from the presentation, making
+ both a bit more maintainable. Over the course of 1998, a large
+ number of changes were made with exactly this in mind; previously,
+ changes had been made but in a less systematic manner and with
+ more concern for not needing to update the existing content. The
+ result has been a highly structured and semantically loaded markup
+ language implemented in \LaTeX. With almost no basic \TeX{} or
+ \LaTeX{} markup in use, however, the markup syntax is about the
+ only evidence of \LaTeX{} in the actual document sources.
+
+ One side effect of this is that while we've been able to use
+ standard ``engines'' for manipulating the documents, such as
+ \LaTeX{} and \LaTeX2HTML, most of the actual transformations have
+ been created specifically for this documentation. The \LaTeX{}
+ document classes and \LaTeX2HTML support are both complete
+ implementations of the specific markup designed for these
+ documents.
+
+ Combining highly customized markup with the somewhat esoteric
+ systems used to process the documents leads us to ask some
+ questions: Can we do this more easily? and, Can we do this
+ better? After a great deal of discussion with the community, we
+ have determined that actively pursuing modern structured
+ documentation systems worth some investment of time.
+
+ There appear to be two real contenders in this arena: the Standard
+ General Markup Language (SGML), and the Extensible Markup Language
+ (XML). Both of these standards have advantages and disadvantages,
+ and many advantages are shared.
+
+ SGML offers advantages which may appeal most to authors,
+ especially those using ordinary text editors. There are also
+ additional abilities to define content models. A number of
+ high-quality tools with demonstrated maturity is available, but
+ most are not free; for those which are, portability issues remain
+ a problem.
+
+ The advantages of XML include the availability of a large number
+ of evolving tools. Unfortunately, many of the associated
+ standards are still evolving, and the tools will have to follow
+ along. This means that developing a robust tool set that uses
+ more than the basic XML 1.0 recommendation is not possible in the
+ short term. The promised availability of a wide variety of
+ high-quality tools which support some of the most important
+ related standards is not immediate. Many tools are likely to be
+ free.
+
+ [Eventual migration to SGML/XML.]
+
+ \subsection{Discussion Forums \label{discussion}}
+
+ Discussion of the future of the Python documentation and related
+ topics takes place in the ``Doc-SIG'' special interest group.
+ Information on the group, including mailing list archives and
+ subscriptions, is available at
+ \url{http://www.python.org/sigs/doc-sig/}. The SIG is open to all
+ interested parties.
+
+ Comments and bug reports on the standard documents should be sent
+ to \email{python-docs@python.org}. This may include comments
+ about formatting, content, or grammatical errors.
+
+\end{document}