5 :Author: David Goodger (with input from many); open to all Docutils
7 :Contact: goodger@python.org
10 :Copyright: This document has been placed in the public domain.
12 .. _Docutils: http://docutils.sourceforge.net/
17 Priority items are marked with "@" symbols. The more @s, the higher
18 the priority. Items in question form (containing "?") are ideas which
19 require more thought and debate; they are potential to-do's.
21 Many of these items are awaiting champions. If you see something
22 you'd like to tackle, please do! If there's something you'd like to
23 see done but are unable to implement it yourself, please consider
24 donating to Docutils: |donate|
26 .. |donate| image:: http://images.sourceforge.net/images/project-support.jpg
27 :target: http://sourceforge.net/donate/index.php?group_id=38414
31 :alt: Support the Docutils project!
33 Please see also the Bugs_ document for a list of bugs in Docutils.
35 .. _bugs: ../../BUGS.html
38 Minimum Requirements for Python Standard Library Candidacy
39 ==========================================================
41 Below are action items that must be added and issues that must be
42 addressed before Docutils can be considered suitable to be proposed
43 for inclusion in the Python standard library.
45 Many of these are now handled by Sphinx_
47 * Support for `document splitting`_. May require some major code
50 * Support for subdocuments (see `large documents`_).
52 * `Object numbering and object references`_.
54 * `Nested inline markup`_.
56 * `Python Source Reader`_.
58 * The HTML writer needs to be rewritten (or a second HTML writer
59 added) to allow for custom classes, and for arbitrary splitting
62 * Documentation_ of the architecture. Other docs too.
66 * Suitability for `Python module documentation
67 <http://docutils.sf.net/sandbox/README.html#documenting-python>`_.
69 .. _Sphinx: http://sphinx.pocoo.org/
74 * Encoding of command line arguments can only be guessed:
76 * try UTF-8/strict first, then try the locale's encoding with
77 strict error handling, then ASCII/replace?
79 UTF-8 is almost 100% safe to try first; false positives are rare,
80 The locale's encoding with strict error handling may be a
81 reasonable compromise, but any error would indicate that the
82 locale's encoding is inappropriate. The only safe fallback is
85 * Do not decode argv before option parsing but individual string
88 +1 Allows for separate command-line vs. filesystem encodings,
89 respectively to keep file names encoded.
90 +1 Allows to configure command-line encoding in a config file,
93 Cf. <http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.user/2890/focus=2957>.
95 * Improve handling on Windows:
97 - Get graphical installer.
98 - Make rst2html.py an .exe file using py2exe.
102 The user interface is very difficult to use for most Windows users;
103 you can't really expect them to use the command line. We need some
104 kind of GUI that can launch rst2html.py, and save the HTML output to
105 a file, and launch a browser. What's important is that we get
106 settings to work with the GUI. So we need some way to dynamically
107 generate a list of settings for the GUI. The current settings_spec
108 for OptionParser doesn't seem to be usable for this for the
111 - It's biased toward the command line -- there are *two* options for
114 - You cannot have both a one-line description and a longer
115 description for tooltips/help-texts.
117 - It doesn't provide hints for the input type. You cannot easily
118 infer the type of a setting from its validator, because any
119 component can add new validators. In fact, it may be necessary to
120 have both a hint about the input type (e.g. string) and a
121 validator (valid ID), or it may be necessary to have a different
122 set of choices for the CLI (1, INFO, 2, ...) and for the GUI
123 (INFO, WARNING, ...).
125 - It's coupled to the OptionParser. We want to be able to change
126 the underlying system without breaking everything.
128 - It's a bunch of primitive structures. We want an extensible (thus
129 object-oriented) interface.
131 So we probably need to create a class for storing all the settings,
132 and auto-generate the OptionParser data from that.
134 I talked to Stephan Deibel about getting Docutils integrated into
135 Wing IDE. He said it's possible, and he'd be willing to help.
136 There's a scripting interface to Wing, which we'd use. We can
137 dynamically generate a list of preferences and not worry too much
138 about the rendering (from what I understood); Wing's whole GUI is
139 dynamic anyway. The interface could be made usable for other GUIs.
140 For example, we could try to get option support for DocFactory. //
143 * Allow different report levels for STDERR and system_messages inside
146 * Change the docutils-update script (in sandbox/infrastructure), to
147 support arbitrary branch snapshots.
149 * Move some general-interest sandboxes out of individuals'
150 directories, into subprojects?
152 * Add option for file (and URL) access restriction to make Docutils
153 usable in Wikis and similar applications.
155 2005-03-21: added ``file_insertion_enabled`` & ``raw_enabled``
156 settings. These partially solve the problem, allowing or disabling
157 **all** file accesses, but not limited access.
159 * Configuration file handling needs discussion:
161 - There should be some error checking on the contents of config
162 files. How much checking should be done? How loudly should
163 Docutils complain if it encounters an error/problem?
165 - Docutils doesn't complain when it doesn't find a configuration
166 file supplied with the ``--config`` option. Should it? (If yes,
169 * Internationalization:
171 - I18n needs refactoring, the language dictionaries are difficult to
172 maintain. Maybe have a look at gettext or similar tools.
174 (This would make a nice Google Summer of Code project)
176 - Language modules: in accented languages it may be useful to have
177 both accented and unaccented entries in the
178 ``bibliographic_fields`` mapping for versatility.
180 - Add a "--strict-language" option & setting: no English fallback
181 for language-dependent features.
183 Make this the default for output (as opposed to input)?
184 Throw an error with a helpfull message, e.g.
186 Default "contents" title for language %s missing, please specify
191 "attention" title for language %s missing, please use a generic
192 admonition with explicit title.
194 - Add internationalization to _`footer boilerplate text` (resulting
195 from "--generator", "--source-link", and "--date" etc.), allowing
199 * Add validation? See http://pytrex.sourceforge.net, RELAX NG, pyRXP.
201 * In ``docutils.readers.get_reader_class`` (& ``parsers`` &
202 ``writers`` too), should we be importing "standalone" or
203 "docutils.readers.standalone"? (This would avoid importing
204 top-level modules if the module name is not in docutils/readers.
205 Potential nastiness.)
207 * Perhaps store a _`name-to-id mapping file`? This could be stored
208 permanently, read by subsequent processing runs, and updated with
209 new entries. ("Persistent ID mapping"?)
211 * Perhaps the ``Component.supports`` method should deal with
212 individual features ("meta" etc.) instead of formats ("html" etc.)?
214 * Think about _`large documents` made up of multiple subdocument
215 files. Issues: continuity (`persistent sequences`_ above),
216 cross-references (`name-to-id mapping file`_ above and `targets in
217 other documents`_ below), splitting (`document splitting`_ below).
219 When writing a book, the author probably wants to split it up into
220 files, perhaps one per chapter (but perhaps even more detailed).
221 However, we'd like to be able to have references from one chapter to
222 another, and have continuous numbering (pages and chapters, as
223 applicable). Of course, none of this is implemented yet. There has
224 been some thought put into some aspects; see `the "include"
225 directive`__ and the `Reference Merging`_ transform below.
227 When I was working with SGML in Japan, we had a system where there
228 was a top-level coordinating file, book.sgml, which contained the
229 top-level structure of a book: the <book> element, containing the
230 book <title> and empty component elements (<preface>, <chapter>,
231 <appendix>, etc.), each with filename attributes pointing to the
232 actual source for the component. Something like this::
235 <title>Title of the Book</title>
236 <preface inrefid="pr01"></preface>
237 <chapter inrefid="ch01"></chapter>
238 <chapter inrefid="ch02"></chapter>
239 <chapter inrefid="ch03"></chapter>
240 <appendix inrefid="ap01"></appendix>
243 (The "inrefid" attribute stood for "insertion reference ID".)
245 The processing system would process each component separately, but
246 it would recognize and use the book file to coordinate chapter and
247 page numbering, and keep a persistent ID to (title, page number)
248 mapping database for cross-references. Docutils could use a similar
249 system for large-scale, multipart documents.
251 __ ../ref/rst/directives.html#including-an-external-document-fragment
267 As I said earlier in chapter :chapter:`Objects.txt`, the
268 reference count gets increased every time a binding is made.
272 As I said earlier in chapter 2, the
273 reference count gets increased every time a binding is made.
275 The ToC in this form doesn't even need to be references to actual
276 reST documents; I'm simply doing it that way for a minimum of
277 future-proofing, in case I do want to add the ability to pick up
278 references within external chapters.
280 Perhaps, instead of ToC (which would overload the "contents"
281 directive concept already in use), we could use "manifest". A
282 "manifest" directive might associate local reference names with
286 intro: Introduction.txt
291 Then the sample becomes::
293 .. include:: manifest.txt
295 As I said earlier in chapter :chapter:`objects`, the
296 reference count gets increased every time a binding is made.
298 * Add support for _`multiple output files` and _`generic data
301 It should be possible for a component to **emit or reference** data
302 to be either **included or referenced** in the output document.
303 Examples of such data are stylesheets or images.
305 For this, we need a "data" object which stores the data either
306 inline or by referring to a file. The Docutils framework is
307 responsible for either:
309 * storing the data in the appropriate location (e.g. in the
310 directory of the output file, or in a user-specified directory)
311 and providing the paths of the stored files to the writer, *or*
313 * providing the data itself to the writer so that it can be embedded
314 in the output document.
316 This approach decouples data handling from the data source (which
317 can either be embedded or referenced) and the destination (which can
318 either be embedded or referenced as well).
320 See <http://article.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.devel/3631>.
322 * Add testing for Docutils' front end tools?
324 * Publisher: "Ordinary setup" shouldn't requre specific ordering; at
325 the very least, there ought to be error checking higher up in the
328 ``Publisher.get_settings`` requires that all components be set up
329 before it's called. Perhaps the I/O *objects* shouldn't be set, but
330 I/O *classes*. Then options are set up (``.set_options``), and
331 ``Publisher.set_io`` (or equivalent code) is called with source &
332 destination paths, creating the I/O objects.
334 Perhaps I/O objects shouldn't be instantiated until required. For
335 split output, the Writer may be called multiple times, once for each
336 doctree, and each doctree should have a separate Output object (with
337 a different path). Is the "Builder" pattern applicable here?
339 * Perhaps I/O objects should become full-fledged components (i.e.
340 subclasses of ``docutils.Component``, as are Readers, Parsers, and
341 Writers now), and thus have associated option/setting specs and
344 * Multiple file I/O suggestion from Michael Hudson: use a file-like
345 object or something you can iterate over to get file-like objects.
347 * Add an "--input-language" option & setting? Specify a different
348 language module for input (bibliographic fields, directives) than
349 for output. The "--language" option would set both input & output
352 * Auto-generate reference tables for language-dependent features?
353 Could be generated from the source modules. A special command-line
354 option could be added to Docutils front ends to do this. (Idea from
357 * Enable feedback of some kind from internal decisions, such as
358 reporting the successful input encoding. Modify runtime settings?
359 System message? Simple stderr output?
361 * Rationalize Writer settings (HTML/LaTeX/PEP) -- share settings.
363 * Merge docs/user/latex.txt info into tools.txt and config.txt?
365 * Add an "--include file" command-line option (config setting too?),
366 equivalent to ".. include:: file" as the first line of the doc text?
367 Especially useful for character entity sets, text transform specs,
370 * Parameterize the Reporter object or class? See the `2004-02-18
371 "rest checking and source path"`_ thread.
373 .. _2004-02-18 "rest checking and source path":
374 http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.user/1112
376 * Add a "disable_transforms" setting? And a dummy Writer subclass
377 that does nothing when its .write() method is called? Would allow
378 for easy syntax checking. See the `2004-02-18 "rest checking and
379 source path"`_ thread.
381 * Add a generic meta-stylesheet mechanism? An external file could
382 associate style names ("class" attributes) with specific elements.
383 Could be generalized to arbitrary output attributes; useful for HTML
384 & XMLs. Aahz implemented something like this in
385 sandbox/aahz/Effective/EffMap.py.
387 * .. _classes for table cells:
389 William Dode suggested that table cells be assigned "class"
390 attributes by columns, so that stylesheets can affect text
391 alignment. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a way (in HTML
392 at least) to leverage the "colspec" elements (HTML "col" tags) by
393 adding classes to them. The resulting HTML is very verbose::
395 <td class="col1">111</td>
396 <td class="col2">222</td>
399 At the very least, it should be an option. People who don't use it
400 shouldn't be penalized by increases in their HTML file sizes.
402 Table rows could also be assigned classes (like odd/even). That
403 would be easier to implement.
405 How should it be implemented?
407 * There could be writer options (column classes & row classes) with
410 * The table directive could grow some options. Something like
411 ":cell-classes: col1 col2 col3" (either must match the number of
412 columns, or repeat to fill?) and ":row-classes: odd even" (repeat
413 to fill; body rows only, or header rows too?).
415 Probably per-table directive options are best. The "class" values
416 could be used by any writer, and applying such classes to all tables
417 in a document with writer options is too broad.
419 * Add file-specific settings support to config files, like::
424 Is this even possible? Should the criterion be the name of the
425 input file or the output file? Alternative (more explicit) syntax::
427 [source_file index.txt]
430 [dest_file index.html]
433 Or rather allow settings configuration from the rst source file?
435 * The "validator" support added to OptionParser is very similar to
436 "traits_" in SciPy_. Perhaps something could be done with them?
437 (Had I known about traits when I was implementing docutils.frontend,
438 I may have used them instead of rolling my own.)
440 .. _traits: http://code.enthought.com/traits/
441 .. _SciPy: http://www.scipy.org/
443 * tools/buildhtml.py: Extend the --prune option ("prune" config
444 setting) to accept file names (generic path) in addition to
445 directories (e.g. --prune=docs/user/rst/cheatsheet.txt, which should
446 *not* be converted to HTML).
448 * Add support for _`plugins`.
450 * _`Config directories`: Currently, ~/.docutils, ./docutils.conf/, &
451 /etc/docutils.conf are read as configuration files. Proposal: allow
452 ~/.docutils to be a a configuration *directory*, along with
453 /etc/docutils/ and ./docutils.conf/. Within these directories,
454 check for config.txt files. We can also have subdirectories here,
455 for plugins, S5 themes, components (readers/writers/parsers) etc.
457 Docutils will continue to support configuration files for backwards
460 * Add support for document decorations other than headers & footers?
461 For example, top/bottom/side navigation bars for web pages. Generic
464 Seems like a bad idea as long as it isn't independent from the ouput
465 format (for example, navigation bars are only useful for web pages).
467 * docutils_update: Check for a ``Makefile`` in a directory, and run
468 ``make`` if found? This would allow for variant processing on
469 specific source files, such as running rst2s5.py instead of
472 * Add a "disable table of contents" setting? The S5 writer could set
473 it as a default. Rationale:
475 The ``contents`` (table of contents) directive must not be used
476 [in S5/HTML documents]. It changes the CSS class of headings
477 and they won't show up correctly in the screen presentation.
479 -- `Easy Slide Shows With reStructuredText & S5
480 <../user/slide-shows.html>`_
482 Analogue to the ``sectnum_xform`` setting, it could be used by the
483 latex writer to switch to a LaTeX generated ToC (currently, the latex
484 writer calls it "use_latex_toc").
486 object numbering and object references
487 --------------------------------------
489 For equations, tables & figures.
491 These would be the equivalent of DocBook's "formal" elements.
493 In LaTeX, automatic counters are implemented for sections, equations and
494 floats (figures, tables) (configurable via stylesheets or in the
495 latex-preamble). Objects can be given `reference names`_ with the
496 ``\label{<refname}`` command, ``\ref{<refname>}`` inserts the
497 corresponding number.
499 No such mechanism exists in HTML.
501 * We need _`persistent sequences`, similar to chapter and footnote
502 numbers. See `OpenOffice.org XML`_ "fields".
504 - Should the sequences be automatic or manual (user-specifyable)?
506 * It is already possible to give `reference names`_ to objects via
507 internal hyperlink targets or the "name" directive option::
511 .. figure:: image.png
515 .. figure:: image.png
518 Improve the mapping of "phrase references" to IDs/labels with
519 Literal transcription (i.e. ü -> ue, ß -> ss, å -> aa) instead of just
520 stripping the accents and other non-ASCII chars.
521 Use http://pypi.python.org/pypi/Unidecode?
523 A "table" directive has been implemented, supporting table titles.
525 Perhaps the name could derive from the title/caption?
527 .. _reference names: ../ref/rst/restructuredtext.html#reference-names
529 * We need syntax for object references. Cf. `OpenOffice.org XML`_
532 - Parameterized substitutions are too complicated
533 (cf. `or not to do`: `object references`_)
535 - An interpreted text approach is simpler and better::
537 See Figure :ref:`figure name` and Equation :ref:`eq:identity`.
539 - "equation", "figure", and "page" roles could generate appropriate
542 See :figure:`figure name` on :page:`figure name`.
544 See `Interpreted Text`_ below.
546 Reference boilerplate could be specified in the document
547 (defaulting to nothing)::
550 :prefix-ref: "Figure "
551 :prefix-caption: "Fig. "
554 The position of the role (prefix or suffix) could also be utilized
556 .. _OpenOffice.org XML: http://xml.openoffice.org/
557 .. _object references: rst/alternatives.html#object-references
566 * Add a FAQ entry about using Docutils (with reStructuredText) on a
567 server and that it's terribly slow. See the first paragraphs in
568 <http://article.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.user/1584>.
570 * Add document about what Docutils has previously been used for
571 (web/use-cases.txt?).
573 * Improve index in docs/user/config.txt.
579 * Complete `Docutils Runtime Settings <../api/runtime-settings.html>`_.
581 * Improve the internal module documentation (docstrings in the code).
582 Specific deficiencies listed below.
584 - docutils.parsers.rst.states.State.build_table: data structure
585 required (including StringList).
587 - docutils.parsers.rst.states: more complete documentation of parser
590 * docs/ref/doctree.txt: DTD element structural relationships,
591 semantics, and attributes. In progress; element descriptions to be
594 * Document the ``pending`` elements, how they're generated and what
597 * Document the transforms (perhaps in docstrings?): how they're used,
598 what they do, dependencies & order considerations.
600 * Document the HTML classes used by html4css1.py.
602 * Write an overview of the Docutils architecture, as an introduction
603 for developers. What connects to what, why, and how. Either update
604 PEP 258 (see PEPs_ below) or as a separate doc.
606 * Give information about unit tests. Maybe as a howto?
608 * Document the docutils.nodes APIs.
610 * Complete the docs/api/publisher.txt docs.
616 * Creating Docutils Writers
618 * Creating Docutils Readers
620 * Creating Docutils Transforms
622 * Creating Docutils Parsers
624 * Using Docutils as a Library
630 * Complete PEP 258 Docutils Design Specification.
632 - Fill in the blanks in API details.
634 - Specify the nodes.py internal data structure implementation?
636 [Tibs:] Eventually we need to have direct documentation in
637 there on how it all hangs together - the DTD is not enough
638 (indeed, is it still meant to be correct? [Yes, it is.
641 * Rework PEP 257, separating style from spec from tools, wrt Docutils?
642 See Doc-SIG from 2001-06-19/20.
650 * Analyze Tony Ibbs' PySource code.
652 * Analyze Doug Hellmann's HappyDoc project.
654 * Investigate how POD handles literate programming.
656 * Take the best ideas and integrate them into Docutils.
660 * Ask Python-dev for opinions (GvR for a pronouncement) on special
661 variables (__author__, __version__, etc.): convenience vs. namespace
662 pollution. Ask opinions on whether or not Docutils should recognize
665 * If we can detect that a comment block begins with ``##``, a la
666 JavaDoc, it might be useful to indicate interspersed section headers
667 & explanatory text in a module. For example::
669 """Module docstring."""
682 class MyException(Exception): pass
686 * Should standalone strings also become (module/class) docstrings?
687 Under what conditions? We want to prevent arbitrary strings from
688 becomming docstrings of prior attribute assignments etc. Assume
689 that there must be no blank lines between attributes and attribute
690 docstrings? (Use lineno of NEWLINE token.)
692 Triple-quotes are sometimes used for multi-line comments (such as
693 commenting out blocks of code). How to reconcile?
695 * HappyDoc's idea of using comment blocks when there's no docstring
696 may be useful to get around the conflict between `additional
697 docstrings`_ and ``from __future__ import`` for module docstrings.
698 A module could begin like this::
700 #!/usr/bin/env python
702 # :Copyright: whatever
704 """This is the public module docstring (``__doc__``)."""
706 # More docs, in comments.
707 # All comments at the beginning of a module could be
708 # accumulated as docstrings.
709 # We can't have another docstring here, because of the
710 # ``__future__`` statement.
712 from __future__ import division
714 Using the JavaDoc convention of a doc-comment block beginning with
715 ``##`` is useful though. It allows doc-comments and implementation
718 .. _additional docstrings:
719 ../peps/pep-0258.html#additional-docstrings
721 * HappyDoc uses an initial comment block to set "parser configuration
722 values". Do the same thing for Docutils, to set runtime settings on
723 a per-module basis? I.e.::
725 # Docutils:setting=value
727 Could be used to turn on/off function parameter comment recognition
728 & other marginal features. Could be used as a general mechanism to
729 augment config files and command-line options (but which takes
732 * Multi-file output should be divisible at arbitrary level.
734 * Support all forms of ``import`` statements:
736 - ``import module``: listed as "module"
737 - ``import module as alias``: "alias (module)"
738 - ``from module import identifier``: "identifier (from module)"
739 - ``from module import identifier as alias``: "alias (identifier
741 - ``from module import *``: "all identifiers (``*``) from module"
743 * Have links to colorized Python source files from API docs? And
744 vice-versa: backlinks from the colorized source files to the API
747 * In summaries, use the first *sentence* of a docstring if the first
748 line is not followed by a blank line.
751 reStructuredText Parser
752 =======================
754 Also see the `... Or Not To Do?`__ list.
756 __ rst/alternatives.html#or-not-to-do
761 * Allow embedded references and not only embedded URIs: ```link text
762 <reference_>`_``; see the second half of
763 <http://article.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.devel/3738>.
765 * Another list problem::
771 This ends up as a definition list. This is more of a usability
774 * This case is probably meant to be a nested list, but it ends up as a
775 list inside a block-quote without an error message::
781 It should probably just be an error.
783 The problem with this is that you don't notice easily in HTML that
784 it's not a nested list but a block-quote -- there's not much of a
787 * Treat enumerated lists that are not arabic and consist of only one
788 item in a single line as ordinary paragraphs. See
789 <http://article.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.user/2635>.
791 * The citation syntax could use some improvements. See
792 <http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.user/2499> (and the
794 <http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.user/2499/focus=3028>,
795 and the follow-ups at
796 <http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.user/3087>,
797 <http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.user/3110>,
798 <http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.user/3114>),
799 <http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.user/2443>,
800 <http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.user/2715>,
801 <http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.user/3027>,
802 <http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.user/3120>,
803 <http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.user/3253>.
805 * The current list-recognition logic has too many false positives, as
812 Here ``V.`` is recognized as an enumerator, which leads to
813 confusion. We need to find a solution that resolves such problems
814 without complicating the spec to much.
816 See <http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.user/2524>.
818 * Add indirect links via citation references & footnote references.
821 `Goodger (2005)`_ is helpful.
823 .. _Goodger (2005): [goodger2005]_
824 .. [goodger2005] citation text
826 See <http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.user/2499>.
828 * Complain about bad URI characters
829 (http://article.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.user/2046) and
830 disallow internal whitespace
831 (http://article.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.user/2214).
833 * Create ``info``-level system messages for unnecessarily
834 backslash-escaped characters (as in ``"\something"``, rendered as
835 "something") to allow checking for errors which silently slipped
838 * Add (functional) tests for untested roles.
840 * Add test for ":figwidth: image" option of "figure" directive. (Test
841 code needs to check if PIL is available on the system.)
843 * Add support for CJK double-width whitespace (indentation) &
844 punctuation characters (markup; e.g. double-width "*", "-", "+")?
846 * Add motivation sections for constructs in spec.
848 * Support generic hyperlink references to _`targets in other
849 documents`? Not in an HTML-centric way, though (it's trivial to say
850 ``http://www.example.com/doc#name``, and useless in non-HTML
851 contexts). XLink/XPointer? ``.. baseref::``? See Doc-SIG
854 * .. _adaptable file extensions:
856 In target URLs, it would be useful to not explicitly specify the
857 file extension. If we're generating HTML, then ".html" is
858 appropriate; if PDF, then ".pdf"; etc. How about using ".*" to
859 indicate "choose the most appropriate filename extension"? For
862 .. _Another Document: another.*
864 What is to be done for output formats that don't *have* hyperlinks?
865 For example, LaTeX targeted at print. Hyperlinks may be "called
866 out", as footnotes with explicit URLs. (Don't convert the links.)
868 But then there's also LaTeX targeted at PDFs, which *can* have
869 links. Perhaps a runtime setting for "*" could explicitly provide
870 the extension, defaulting to the output file's extension.
872 Should the system check for existing files? No, not practical.
874 Handle documents only, or objects (images, etc.) also?
876 If this handles images also, how to differentiate between document
877 and image links? Element context (within "image")? Which image
878 extension to use for which document format? Again, a runtime
879 setting would suffice.
881 This may not be just a parser issue; it may need framework support.
883 Mailing list threads: `Images in both HTML and LaTeX`__ (especially
884 `this summary of Lea's objections`__), `more-universal links?`__,
885 `Output-format-sensitive link targets?`__
887 __ http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.user/1239
888 __ http://article.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.user/1278
889 __ http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.user/1915
890 __ http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.user/2438
892 Idea from Jim Fulton: an external lookup table of targets:
894 I would like to specify the extension (e.g. .txt) [in the
895 source, rather than ``filename.*``], but tell the converter to
896 change references to the files anticipating that the files will
901 .. _Another Document: another.txt
903 rst2html.py --convert-links "another.txt bar.txt" foo.txt
905 That is, name the files for which extensions should be converted.
907 Note that I want to refer to original files in the original text
908 (another.txt rather than another.txt) because I want the
909 unconverted text to stand on its own.
911 Note that in most cases, people will be able to use globs::
913 rst2html.py --convert-link-extensions-for "`echo *.txt`" foo.txt
915 It might be nice to be able to use multiple arguments, as in::
917 rst2html.py --convert-link-extensions-for *.txt -- foo.txt
921 > What is to be done for output formats
922 > that don't have hyperlinks?
924 Don't convert the links.
928 > Handle documents only, or objects
929 > (images, etc.) also?
931 No, documents only, but there really is no need for gueswork.
932 Just get the file names as command-line arguments. EIBTI
933 [explicit is better than implicit].
935 For images, we probably need separate solution (which is being
936 worked on), whereas for documents, the issue is basically
937 interlinking between reStructuredText documents. IMO, this cries
938 for support for multiple input and output files, i.e. support for
939 documents which comprise multiple files. Adding adaptable file
940 extensions seems like a kludge. // FW
942 * Implement the header row separator modification to table.el. (Wrote
943 to Takaaki Ota & the table.el mailing list on 2001-08-12, suggesting
944 support for "=====" header rows. On 2001-08-17 he replied, saying
945 he'd put it on his to-do list, but "don't hold your breath".)
947 * Fix the parser's indentation handling to conform with the stricter
948 definition in the spec. (Explicit markup blocks should be strict or
951 .. XXX What does this mean? Can you elaborate, David?
953 * Make the parser modular. Allow syntax constructs to be added or
954 disabled at run-time. Subclassing is probably not enough because it
955 makes it difficult to apply multiple extensions.
957 * Generalize the "doctest block" construct (which is overly
958 Python-centric) to other interactive sessions? "Doctest block"
959 could be renamed to "I/O block" or "interactive block", and each of
960 these could also be recognized as such by the parser:
965 A block beginning with a "$ " prompt is interpreted as a shell
966 session interactive block. As with Doctest blocks, the
967 interactive block ends with the first blank line, and wouldn't
970 - Root shell sessions::
973 A block beginning with a "# " prompt is interpreted as a root
974 shell session (the user is or has to be logged in as root)
975 interactive block. Again, the block ends with a blank line.
977 Other standard (and unambiguous) interactive session prompts could
978 easily be added (such as "> " for WinDOS).
980 Tony Ibbs spoke out against this idea (2002-06-14 Doc-SIG thread
981 "docutils feedback").
983 * Add support for pragma (syntax-altering) directives.
985 Some pragma directives could be local-scope unless explicitly
986 specified as global/pragma using ":global:" options.
988 * Support whitespace in angle-bracketed standalone URLs according to
989 Appendix E ("Recommendations for Delimiting URI in Context") of `RFC
992 .. _RFC 2396: http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2396.txt
994 * Use the vertical spacing of the source text to determine the
995 corresponding vertical spacing of the output?
997 * [From Mark Nodine] For cells in simple tables that comprise a
998 single line, the justification can be inferred according to the
1001 1. If the text begins at the leftmost column of the cell,
1002 then left justification, ELSE
1003 2. If the text begins at the rightmost column of the cell,
1004 then right justification, ELSE
1005 3. Center justification.
1007 The onus is on the author to make the text unambiguous by adding
1008 blank columns as necessary. There should be a parser setting to
1009 turn off justification-recognition (normally on would be fine).
1011 Decimal justification?
1013 All this shouldn't be done automatically. Only when it's requested
1014 by the user, e.g. with something like this::
1021 Otherwise it will break existing documents.
1023 * Generate a warning or info message for paragraphs which should have
1024 been lists, like this one::
1029 * Generalize the "target-notes" directive into a command-line option
1030 somehow? See docutils-develop 2003-02-13.
1032 * Allow a "::"-only paragraph (first line, actually) to introduce a
1033 _`literal block without a blank line`? (Idea from Paul Moore.) ::
1036 This is a literal block
1038 Is indentation enough to make the separation between a paragraph
1039 which contains just a ``::`` and the literal text unambiguous?
1040 (There's one problem with this concession: If one wants a definition
1041 list item which defines the term "::", we'd have to escape it.) It
1042 would only be reasonable to apply it to "::"-only paragraphs though.
1043 I think the blank line is visually necessary if there's text before
1046 The text in this paragraph needs separation
1047 from the literal block following::
1048 This doesn't look right.
1050 * Add new syntax for _`nested inline markup`? Or extend the parser to
1051 parse nested inline markup somehow? See the `collected notes
1052 <rst/alternatives.html#nested-inline-markup>`__.
1054 * Drop the backticks from embedded URIs with omitted reference text?
1055 Should the angle brackets be kept in the output or not? ::
1059 Probably not worth the trouble.
1061 * How about a syntax for alternative hyperlink behavior, such as "open
1062 in a new window" (as in HTML's ``<a target="_blank">``)?
1064 The MoinMoin wiki uses a caret ("^") at the beginning of the URL
1065 ("^" is not a legal URI character). That could work for both inline
1066 and explicit targets::
1068 The `reference docs <^url>`__ may be handy.
1072 This may be too specific to HTML. It hasn't been requested very
1075 * Add an option to add URI schemes at runtime.
1077 * _`Segmented lists`::
1079 : segment : segment : segment
1080 : segment : segment : very long
1082 : segment : segment : segment
1084 The initial colon (":") can be thought of as a type of bullet
1086 We could even have segment titles::
1088 :: title : title : title
1089 : segment : segment : segment
1090 : segment : segment : segment
1092 This would correspond well to DocBook's SegmentedList. Output could
1093 be tabular or "name: value" pairs, as described in DocBook's docs.
1095 * Allow backslash-escaped colons in field names::
1097 :Case Study\: Event Handling: This chapter will be dropped.
1099 * Enable grid _`tables inside XML comments`, where "--" ends comments.
1100 I see three implementation possibilities:
1102 1. Make the table syntax characters into "table" directive options.
1103 This is the most flexible but most difficult, and we probably
1104 don't need that much flexibility.
1106 2. Substitute "~" for "-" with a specialized directive option
1109 3. Make the standard table syntax recognize "~" as well as "-", even
1110 without a directive option. Individual tables would have to be
1111 internally consistent.
1113 Directive options are preferable to configuration settings, because
1114 tables are document-specific. A pragma directive would be another
1115 approach, to set the syntax once for a whole document.
1117 In the meantime, the list-table_ directive is a good replacement for
1118 grid tables inside XML comments.
1120 .. _list-table: ../ref/rst/directives.html#list-table
1122 * Generalize docinfo contents (bibliographic fields): remove specific
1123 fields, and have only a single generic "field"?
1125 Inline markup recognition rules
1126 -------------------------------
1128 The `inline markup`_ recognition rules were devised intentionally to allow
1129 90% of non-markup uses of "*", "`", "_", and "|" *without* resorting to
1130 backslashes. For 9% of the remaining 10%, use inline literals or literal
1131 blocks. Only those who understand the escaping and inline markup rules
1132 should attempt the remaining 1%. ;-)
1134 .. _inline markup: ../ref/rst/restructuredtext.html#inline-markup
1136 Changes need to be done in `parsers.rst.states.Inliner`.
1140 a) Use `Unicode categories`_ for all chars (ASCII or not)
1142 +1 comprehensible, standards based,
1143 -1 many "false positives" need escaping,
1144 -1 not backwards compatible.
1146 b) full backwards compatibility
1148 :Pi: only before start-string
1149 :Pf: only behind end-string
1150 :Po: "conservative" sorting of other punctuation:
1155 +1 backwards compatible,
1156 +1 logical extension of the existing rules,
1157 -1 exception list for "other" punctuation needed,
1158 -1 rules even more complicated,
1159 -1 not clear how to sort "other" punctuation that is currently not
1161 -2 international quoting convention like
1162 »German ›angular‹ quotes« not recognized.
1164 .. _Unicode categories:
1165 http://www.unicode.org/Public/5.1.0/ucd/UCD.html#General_Category_Values
1171 Since Docutils 0.8, a "math" role and directive using LaTeX math
1172 syntax as input format is part of reStructuredText.
1174 Provide for `alternative input formats`__?
1176 __ ./rst/alternatives.html#math-markup
1178 Try to be compatible with `Math support in Sphinx`_?
1180 * The ``:label:`` option selects a label for the equation, by which it
1181 can be cross-referenced, and causes an equation number to be issued.
1182 In Docutils, this would be called ``:name:``.
1184 * Option ``:nowrap:`` prevents wrapping of the given math in a
1185 math environment (you have to specify the math environment in the
1188 .. _Math support in Sphinx: http://sphinx.pocoo.org/ext/math.html
1194 Which equation environments should be supported by the math directive?
1198 + numbered: `equation`
1199 + unnumbered: `equation*`
1201 * multiline (test for ``\\`` outside of a nested environment
1202 (e.g. `array` or `cases`)
1204 + numbered: `align` (number every line)
1206 (To give one common number to all lines, put them in a `split`
1207 environment. Docutils then places it in an `equation` environment.)
1209 + unnumbered: `align*`
1211 + Sphinx math also supports `gather` (checking for blank lines in
1212 the content). Docutils puts content blocks separated by blank
1213 lines in separate math-block doctree nodes. (The only difference of
1214 `gather` to two consecutive "normal" environments seems to be that
1215 page-breaks between the two are prevented.)
1217 See http://www.math.uiuc.edu/~hildebr/tex/displays.html.
1223 There is no native math support in HTML.
1226 Converters from LaTeX to MathML include
1228 * latex_math_ (Python) by Jens Jørgen Mortensen in the Docutils sandbox
1231 * TeX4ht_ (TeX based)
1233 * itex_ (also `used in Abiword`__)
1234 * TtM_ (C, non free, free binary for Linux) with an `online-trial page`__
1235 * `Steve’s LATEX-to-MathML translator`_
1236 ('mini-language', javascript, Python)
1238 latex_math_ is the base for the current latex2mathml_ module used
1239 with ``--math-output=MathML``.
1241 * Write a new converter based on:
1243 * a generic tokenizer (see e.g. a `latex-codec recipe`_,
1244 `updated latex-codec`_, )
1245 * the Unicode-Char <-> LaTeX mappings database unimathsymbols_
1247 __ http://msevior.livejournal.com/26377.html
1248 __ http://hutchinson.belmont.ma.us/tth/mml/ttmmozform.html
1249 .. _MathML: http://www.w3.org/TR/MathML2/
1250 .. _latex_math: ../../../sandbox/jensj/latex_math/
1251 .. _latex2mathml: ../../docutils/math/latex2mathml.py
1252 .. _Blahtex: http://gva.noekeon.org/blahtexml/
1253 .. _MathToWeb: http://www.mathtoweb.com/
1254 .. _TeX4ht: http://www.tug.org/applications/tex4ht/mn.html
1255 .. _LaTeXML: http://dlmf.nist.gov/LaTeXML/
1256 .. _itex: http://golem.ph.utexas.edu/~distler/blog/itex2MMLcommands.html
1257 .. _ttm: http://hutchinson.belmont.ma.us/tth/mml/
1258 .. _Steve’s LATEX-to-MathML translator:
1259 http://www.gold-saucer.org/mathml/greasemonkey/dist/display-latex
1260 .. _latex-codec recipe:
1261 http://code.activestate.com/recipes/252124-latex-codec/
1262 .. _updated latex-codec:
1263 http://mirror.ctan.org/biblio/bibtex/utils/mab2bib/latex.py
1264 .. _unimathsymbols: http://milde.users.sourceforge.net/LUCR/Math/
1267 .. _itex: http://pear.math.pitt.edu/mathzilla/itex2mmlItex.html
1271 format math in standard HTML enhanced by CSS rules
1272 (Overview__, `Examples and experiments`__).
1274 LaTeX-math to HTML/CSS converters include
1277 * Hevea_ (Objective Caml)
1280 The ``math-output=html`` option uses the converter from eLyXer.
1282 __ http://www.cs.tut.fi/~jkorpela/math/
1283 __ http://www.zipcon.net/~swhite/docs/math/math.html
1284 .. _TtH: ttp://hutchinson.belmont.ma.us/tth/index.html
1285 .. _Hevea: http://para.inria.fr/~maranget/hevea/
1286 .. _elyxer: http://elyxer.nongnu.org/
1289 (PNG or SVG) like e.g. Wikipedia. (e.g. with dvisvgm_ or the
1290 pure-python MathML->SVG converter SVGMath_)
1292 .. _dvisvgm: http://dvisvgm.sourceforge.net/
1293 .. _SVGMath: http://www.grigoriev.ru/svgmath/
1299 * The `OpenDocument standard`_ version 1.1 says:
1301 Mathematical content is represented by MathML 2.0
1303 However, putting MathML into an ODP file seems tricky as these
1304 (maybe outdated) links suppose:
1305 http://idippedut.dk/post/2008/01/25/Do-your-math-ODF-and-MathML.aspx
1306 http://idippedut.dk/post/2008/03/03/Now-I-get-it-ODF-and-MathML.aspx
1308 .. _OpenDocument standard:
1309 http://www.oasis-open.org/standards#opendocumentv1.1
1311 * OOoLaTeX__: "a set of macros designed to bring the power of LaTeX
1314 __ http://ooolatex.sourceforge.net/
1320 Directives below are often referred to as "module.directive", the
1321 directive function. The "module." is not part of the directive name
1322 when used in a document.
1324 * Allow for field lists in list tables. See
1325 <http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.devel/3392>.
1329 Unify table implementations and unify options of table directives
1330 (http://article.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.user/1857).
1332 * Allow directives to be added at run-time?
1334 * Use the language module for directive option names?
1336 * Add "substitution_only" and "substitution_ok" function attributes,
1337 and automate context checking?
1339 * Implement options or features on existing directives:
1341 - All directives that produce titled elements should grow implicit
1342 reference names based on the titles.
1344 - Allow the _`:trim:` option for all directives when they occur in a
1345 substitution definition, not only the unicode_ directive.
1347 .. _unicode: ../ref/rst/directives.html#unicode-character-codes
1349 - Add the "class" option to the unicode_ directive. For example, you
1350 might want to get characters or strings with borders around them.
1352 - _`images.figure`: "title" and "number", to indicate a formal
1355 - _`parts.sectnum`: "local"?, "refnum"
1357 A "local" option could enable numbering for sections from a
1358 certain point down, and sections in the rest of the document are
1359 not numbered. For example, a reference section of a manual might
1360 be numbered, but not the rest. OTOH, an all-or-nothing approach
1361 would probably be enough.
1363 The "sectnum" directive should be usable multiple times in a
1364 single document. For example, in a long document with "chapter"
1365 and "appendix" sections, there could be a second "sectnum" before
1366 the first appendix, changing the sequence used (from 1,2,3... to
1367 A,B,C...). This is where the "local" concept comes in. This part
1368 of the implementation can be left for later.
1370 A "refnum" option (better name?) would insert reference names
1371 (targets) consisting of the reference number. Then a URL could be
1372 of the form ``http://host/document.html#2.5`` (or "2-5"?). Allow
1373 internal references by number? Allow name-based *and*
1374 number-based ids at the same time, or only one or the other (which
1375 would the table of contents use)? Usage issue: altering the
1376 section structure of a document could render hyperlinks invalid.
1378 - _`parts.contents`: Add a "suppress" or "prune" option? It would
1379 suppress contents display for sections in a branch from that point
1380 down. Or a new directive, like "prune-contents"?
1382 Add an option to include topics in the TOC? Another for sidebars?
1383 The "topic" directive could have a "contents" option, or the
1384 "contents" directive" could have an "include-topics" option. See
1385 docutils-develop 2003-01-29.
1387 - _`parts.header` & _`parts.footer`: Support multiple, named headers
1388 & footers? For example, separate headers & footers for odd, even,
1389 and the first page of a document.
1391 This may be too specific to output formats which have a notion of
1396 - Add a ``:parent:`` option for setting the parent's class
1397 (http://article.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.devel/3165).
1401 - Option to label lines?
1403 - How about an environment variable, say RSTINCLUDEPATH or
1404 RSTPATH, for standard includes (as in ``.. include:: <name>``)?
1405 This could be combined with a setting/option to allow
1406 user-defined include directories.
1408 - Add support for inclusion by URL? ::
1411 :url: http://www.example.org/inclusion.txt
1413 - Strip blank lines from begin and end of a literal included file or
1414 file section. This would correspond to the way a literal block is
1417 As nodes.literal_block expects (and we have) the text as a string
1418 (rather than a list of lines), using a regexp seems the way.
1420 - _`misc.raw`: add a "destination" option to the "raw" directive? ::
1427 It needs thought & discussion though, to come up with a consistent
1428 set of destination labels and consistent behavior.
1430 And placing HTML code inside the <head> element of an HTML
1431 document is rather the job of a templating system.
1433 - _`body.sidebar`: Allow internal section structure? Adornment
1434 styles would be independent of the main document.
1436 That is really complicated, however, and the document model
1437 greatly benefits from its simplicity.
1439 * Implement directives. Each of the list items below begins with an
1440 identifier of the form, "module_name.directive_function_name". The
1441 directive name itself could be the same as the
1442 directive_function_name, or it could differ.
1446 It has the disadvantage that it's only easily implementable for
1447 HTML, so it's specific to one output format.
1449 (For non-HTML writers, the imagemap would have to be replaced with
1452 - _`parts.endnotes` (or "footnotes"): See `Footnote & Citation Gathering`_.
1454 - _`parts.citations`: See `Footnote & Citation Gathering`_.
1456 - _`misc.language`: Specify (= change) the language of a document at
1459 * The misc.settings_ directive suggested below offers a more generic
1462 * The language of document parts can be indicated by the "special class
1463 value" ``"language-"`` + `BCP 47`_ language code. Class arguments to
1464 the title are attached to the document's base node - hence titled
1465 documents can be given a different language at parse time. However,
1466 "language by class attribute" does not change parsing (localized
1467 directives etc.), only supporting writers.
1469 .. _BCP 47: http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/bcp/bcp47.txt
1472 - _`misc.settings`: Set any(?) Docutils runtime setting from within
1473 a document? Needs much thought and discussion.
1475 Security concerns need to be taken into account (it shouldn't be
1476 possible to enable ``file_insertion_enabled`` from within a
1477 document), and settings that only would have taken effect before
1478 the directive (like ``tab-width``) shouldn't be accessible either.
1480 See this sub-thread:
1481 <http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.user/3620/focus=3649>
1483 - _`misc.gather`: Gather (move, or copy) all instances of a specific
1484 element. A generalization of the `Footnote & Citation Gathering`_
1487 - Add a custom "directive" directive, equivalent to "role"? For
1492 .. class:: incremental
1496 "``.. incr::``" above is equivalent to "``.. class:: incremental``".
1500 .. directive:: printed-links
1506 :class: print-inline
1508 This acts like macros. The directive contents will have to be
1509 evaluated when referenced, not when defined.
1511 * Needs a better name? "Macro", "substitution"?
1512 * What to do with directive arguments & options when the
1513 macro/directive is referenced?
1515 - Make the meaning of block quotes overridable? Only a 1-shot
1516 though; doesn't solve the general problem.
1518 - .. _conditional directives:
1520 .. note:: See also the implementation in Sphinx_.
1522 Docutils already has the ability to say "use this content for
1523 Writer X" via the "raw" directive. It also does have the ability
1524 to say "use this content for any Writer other than X" via the
1525 "strip-elements with class" config value. However, using "raw"
1526 input just to select a special writer is inconvenient in many
1528 It wouldn't be difficult to get more straightforward support, though.
1530 My first idea would be to add a set of conditional directives.
1531 Let's call them "writer-is" and "writer-is-not" for discussion
1532 purposes (don't worry about implemention details). We might
1535 .. writer-is:: text-only
1551 .. figure:: protocol_stack.eps
1553 .. writer-is-not:: text-only pdf
1555 .. figure:: protocol_stack.png
1557 This could be an interface to the Filter transform
1558 (docutils.transforms.components.Filter).
1560 The ideas in `adaptable file extensions`_ above may also be
1563 SVG's "switch" statement may provide inspiration.
1565 Here's an example of a directive that could produce multiple
1566 outputs (*both* raw troff pass-through *and* a GIF, for example)
1567 and allow the Writer to select. ::
1574 %sum from i=o to inf c sup i~=~lim from {m -> inf}
1575 sum from i=0 to m sup i%
1580 - _`body.example`: Examples; suggested by Simon Hefti. Semantics as
1581 per Docbook's "example"; admonition-style, numbered, reference,
1582 with a caption/title.
1584 - _`body.index`: Index targets.
1586 See `Index Entries & Indexes
1587 <./rst/alternatives.html#index-entries-indexes>`__.
1589 - _`body.literal`: Literal block, possibly "formal" (see `object
1590 numbering and object references`_ above). Possible options:
1592 - "highlight" a range of lines
1594 - include only a specified range of lines
1596 - "number" or "line-numbers"
1598 - "styled" could indicate that the directive should check for
1599 style comments at the end of lines to indicate styling or
1602 Specific derivatives (i.e., a "python-interactive" directive)
1603 could interpret style based on cues, like the ">>> " prompt and
1604 "input()"/"raw_input()" calls.
1606 See docutils-users 2003-03-03.
1608 - _`body.listing`: Code listing with title (to be numbered
1609 eventually), equivalent of "figure" and "table" directives.
1611 - _`pysource.usage`: Extract a usage message from the program,
1612 either by running it at the command line with a ``--help`` option
1613 or through an exposed API. [Suggestion for Optik.]
1619 Interpreted text is entirely a reStructuredText markup construct, a
1620 way to get around built-in limitations of the medium. Some roles are
1621 intended to introduce new doctree elements, such as "title-reference".
1622 Others are merely convenience features, like "RFC".
1624 All supported interpreted text roles must already be known to the
1625 Parser when they are encountered in a document. Whether pre-defined
1626 in core/client code, or in the document, doesn't matter; the roles
1627 just need to have already been declared. Adding a new role may
1628 involve adding a new element to the DTD and may require extensive
1629 support, therefore such additions should be well thought-out. There
1630 should be a limited number of roles.
1632 The only place where no limit is placed on variation is at the start,
1633 at the Reader/Parser interface. Transforms are inserted by the Reader
1634 into the Transformer's queue, where non-standard elements are
1635 converted. Once past the Transformer, no variation from the standard
1636 Docutils doctree is possible.
1638 An example is the Python Source Reader, which will use interpreted
1639 text extensively. The default role will be "Python identifier", which
1640 will be further interpreted by namespace context into <class>,
1641 <method>, <module>, <attribute>, etc. elements (see pysource.dtd),
1642 which will be transformed into standard hyperlink references, which
1643 will be processed by the various Writers. No Writer will need to have
1644 any knowledge of the Python-Reader origin of these elements.
1646 * Add explicit interpreted text roles for the rest of the implicit
1647 inline markup constructs: named-reference, anonymous-reference,
1648 footnote-reference, citation-reference, substitution-reference,
1649 target, uri-reference (& synonyms).
1651 * Add directives for each role as well? This would allow indirect
1654 This text contains |nested inline markup|.
1656 .. |nested inline markup| emphasis::
1658 nested ``inline`` markup
1662 - "_`raw-wrapped`" (or "_`raw-wrap`"): Base role to wrap raw text
1663 around role contents.
1665 For example, the following reStructuredText source ... ::
1667 .. role:: red(raw-formatting)
1669 :html: <font color="red">
1670 :latex: {\color{red}
1677 ... will yield the following document fragment::
1681 <inline classes="red">
1684 <raw format="latex">
1686 <inline classes="red">
1690 <raw format="latex">
1693 Possibly without the intermediate "inline" node.
1695 - _`"acronym" and "abbreviation"`: Associate the full text with a
1696 short form. Jason Diamond's description:
1698 I want to translate ```reST`:acronym:`` into ``<acronym
1699 title='reStructuredText'>reST</acronym>``. The value of the
1700 title attribute has to be defined out-of-band since you can't
1701 parameterize interpreted text. Right now I have them in a
1702 separate file but I'm experimenting with creating a directive
1703 that will use some form of reST syntax to let you define them.
1705 Should Docutils complain about undefined acronyms or
1708 What to do if there are multiple definitions? How to
1709 differentiate between CSS (Content Scrambling System) and CSS
1710 (Cascading Style Sheets) in a single document? David Priest
1713 The short answer is: you don't. Anyone who did such a thing
1714 would be writing very poor documentation indeed. (Though I
1715 note that `somewhere else in the docs`__, there's mention of
1716 allowing replacement text to be associated with the
1717 abbreviation. That takes care of the duplicate
1718 acronyms/abbreviations problem, though a writer would be
1719 foolish to ever need it.)
1721 __ `inline parameter syntax`_
1723 How to define the full text? Possibilities:
1725 1. With a directive and a definition list? ::
1732 Docstring Processing System
1734 Would this list remain in the document as a glossary, or would
1735 it simply build an internal lookup table? A "glossary"
1736 directive could be used to make the intention clear.
1737 Acronyms/abbreviations and glossaries could work together.
1739 Then again, a glossary could be formed by gathering individual
1740 definitions from around the document.
1742 2. Some kind of `inline parameter syntax`_? ::
1744 `reST <reStructuredText>`:acronym: is `WYSIWYG <what you
1745 see is what you get>`:acronym: plaintext markup.
1747 .. _inline parameter syntax:
1748 rst/alternatives.html#parameterized-interpreted-text
1750 3. A combination of 1 & 2?
1752 The multiple definitions issue could be handled by establishing
1753 rules of priority. For example, directive-based lookup tables
1754 have highest priority, followed by the first inline definition.
1755 Multiple definitions in directive-based lookup tables would
1756 trigger warnings, similar to the rules of `implicit hyperlink
1759 __ ../ref/rst/restructuredtext.html#implicit-hyperlink-targets
1761 4. Using substitutions? ::
1763 .. |reST| acronym:: reST
1764 :text: reStructuredText
1766 What do we do for other formats than HTML which do not support
1767 tool tips? Put the full text in parentheses?
1769 - "figure", "table", "listing", "chapter", "page", etc: See `object
1770 numbering and object references`_ above.
1772 - "glossary-term": This would establish a link to a glossary. It
1773 would require an associated "glossary-entry" directive, whose
1774 contents could be a definition list::
1783 This would allow entries to be defined anywhere in the document,
1784 and collected (via a "glossary" directive perhaps) at one point.
1790 The number of doctree nodes can be reduced by "normalizing" some related
1791 nodes. This makes the document model and the writers somewhat simpler.
1793 * The "doctest" element should go away. The construct could simply be
1794 a front-end to generic literal blocks. We could immediately (in 0.7)
1795 remove the doctest node from the doctree, but leave the
1796 syntax in reST. The reST parser could represent doctest blocks as
1797 literal blocks with a class attribute. The syntax could be left in
1798 reST (for a set period of time?).
1800 * "Normalize" special admonitions (note, hint, warning, ...) during parsing
1801 (similar to _`transforms.writer_aux.Admonitions`). There is no need to
1802 keep them as distinct elements in the doctree specification.
1804 Keep the special admonition directives in reStructuredText syntax?
1806 * _`Line numbers` and "source" in system messages:
1808 - Add "source" and "line" keyword arguments to all Reporter calls?
1809 This would require passing source/line arguments along all
1810 intermediate functions (where currently only `line` is used).
1812 Or rather specify "line" only if actually needed?
1814 Currently, `document.reporter` uses a state machine instance to
1815 determine the "source" and "line" info from
1816 `statemachine.input_lines` if not given explicitely. Except for
1817 special cases, the "line" argument is not needed because,
1818 `document.statemachine` keeps record of the current line number.
1820 - For system messages generated after the parsing is completed (i.e. by
1821 transforms or the writer) "line" info must be present in the doctree
1824 Elements' .line assignments should be checked. (Assign to .source
1825 too? Add a set_info method? To what?)
1827 The "source" (and line number in the source) can either be added
1828 explicitely to the elements or determined from the “raw” line
1829 number by `document.statemachine.get_source_and_line`.
1831 - Some line numbers in elements are not being set properly
1832 (explicitly), just implicitly/automatically. See rev. 1.74 of
1833 docutils/parsers/rst/states.py for an example of how to set.
1835 - The line numbers of definition list items are wrong::
1837 $ rst2pseudoxml.py --expose-internal-attribute line
1846 <document source="<stdin>">
1848 <definition_list_item internal:line="3">
1852 <paragraph internal:line="2">
1855 <definition_list_item internal:line="6">
1859 <paragraph internal:line="6">
1865 Quite a few nodes are getting a "None" source attribute as well. In
1866 particular, see the bodies of definition lists.
1870 Unimplemented Transforms
1871 ========================
1873 * _`Footnote & Citation Gathering`
1875 Collect and move footnotes & citations to the end of a document or the
1876 place of a "footnotes" or "citations" directive
1877 (see `<./ref/rst/directives.html>_`)
1880 Collect all footnotes that are referenced in the document before the
1881 directive (and after an eventually preceding ``.. footnotes::``
1882 directive) and insert at this place.
1884 Allows "endnotes" at a configurable place.
1887 Collect citations that are referenced ...
1891 a) defined in the document as citation elements
1893 b) auto-generated from entries in a bibliographic database.
1895 + based on bibstuff_?
1896 + also have a look at
1898 * CrossTeX_, a backwards-compatible, improved bibtex
1899 re-implementation in Python (including HTML export).
1900 (development stalled since 2 years)
1902 * Pybtex_,a drop-in replacement for BibTeX written in Python.
1904 * BibTeX styles & (experimental) pythonic style API.
1905 * Database in BibTeX, BibTeXML and YAML formats.
1906 * full Unicode support.
1907 * Write to TeX, HTML and plain text.
1909 * `Zotero plain <http://e6h.org/%7Eegh/hg/zotero-plain/>`__
1910 supports Zotero databases and CSL_ styles with Docutils with an
1913 .. _CSL: http://www.citationstyles.org/
1916 * Automatically insert a "References" heading?
1918 .. _CrossTeX: http://www.cs.cornell.edu/people/egs/crosstex/
1919 .. _Pybtex: http://pybtex.sourceforge.net/
1921 * _`Reference Merging`
1923 When merging two or more subdocuments (such as docstrings),
1924 conflicting references may need to be resolved. There may be:
1926 * duplicate reference and/or substitution names that need to be made
1928 * duplicate footnote numbers that need to be renumbered.
1930 Should this be done before or after reference-resolving transforms
1931 are applied? What about references from within one subdocument to
1934 * _`Document Splitting`
1936 If the processed document is written to multiple files (possibly in
1937 a directory tree), it will need to be split up. Internal references
1938 will have to be adjusted.
1940 (HTML only? Initially, yes. Eventually, anything should be
1945 - Insert a "destination" attribute into the root element of each
1946 split-out document, containing the path/filename. The Output
1947 object or Writer will recognize this attribute and split out the
1948 files accordingly. Must allow for common headers & footers,
1949 prev/next, breadcrumbs, etc.
1951 - Transform a single-root document into a document containing
1952 multiple subdocuments, recursively. The content model of the
1953 "document" element would have to change to::
1956 ( (title, subtitle?)?,
1958 (docinfo, transition?)?,
1962 (I.e., add the last line -- 0 or more document elements.)
1964 Let's look at the case of hierarchical (directories and files)
1965 HTML output. Each document element containing further document
1966 elements would correspond to a directory (with an index.html file
1967 for the content preceding the subdocuments). Each document
1968 element containing no subdocuments (i.e., structure model elements
1969 only) corresponds to a concrete file with no directory.
1971 The natural transform would be to map sections to subdocuments,
1972 but possibly only a given number of levels deep.
1976 If a document is split up, each segment will need navigation links:
1977 parent, children (small TOC), previous (preorder), next (preorder).
1978 Part of `Document Splitting`_?
1980 * _`List of System Messages`
1982 The ``system_message`` elements are inserted into the document tree,
1983 adjacent to the problems themselves where possible. Some (those
1984 generated post-parse) are kept until later, in
1985 ``document.messages``, and added as a special final section,
1986 "Docutils System Messages".
1988 Docutils could be made to generate hyperlinks to all known
1989 system_messages and add them to the document, perhaps to the end of
1990 the "Docutils System Messages" section.
1992 Fred L. Drake, Jr. wrote:
1994 I'd like to propose that both parse- and transformation-time
1995 messages are included in the "Docutils System Messages" section.
1996 If there are no objections, I can make the change.
1998 The advantage of the current way of doing things is that parse-time
1999 system messages don't require a transform; they're already in the
2000 document. This is valuable for testing (unit tests,
2001 tools/quicktest.py). So if we do decide to make a change, I think
2002 the insertion of parse-time system messages ought to remain as-is
2003 and the Messages transform ought to move all parse-time system
2004 messages (remove from their originally inserted positions, insert in
2005 System Messages section).
2007 * _`Index Generation`
2011 Convert quotes and dashes to typographically correct entities.
2012 Sphinx does this with ``smartypants.py``.
2014 Write a generic version that uses Unicode chars
2015 (let the writer replace these if required).
2017 Some arguments for "smart quotes" are collected in a `mail to
2018 docutils-user by Jörg W. Mittag from 2006-03-13`__.
2020 Also see the "... Or Not To Do?" list entry for
2021 `Character Processing`_
2023 __ http://article.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.user/2765
2025 .. _Character Processing: rst/alternatives.html#character-processing
2031 * Make it easier to find out fragment names (#foo-bar) of ``_`inline
2032 targets```. Currently you have to either look at the source or
2035 For example, we could add support for self-referencing targets
2036 (i.e. inline targets would [unobtrusively] link to themselves, so
2037 that you can just click them and then copy the address). Or we
2038 could add support for titles that display the fragment name (as in
2039 <http://subversion.tigris.org/mailing-list-guidelines.html>; just
2040 hover the paragraphs).
2042 Either way it should be optional and deactivated by default.
2044 This would be useful for documents like Docutils' bug list or to-do
2047 * Make the _`list compacting` logic more generic: For example, allow
2048 for literal blocks or line blocks inside of compact list items.
2050 This is not implementable as long as list compacting is done by
2051 omitting ``<p>`` tags. List compacting would need to be done by
2052 adjusting CSS margins instead.
2054 * Idea for field-list rendering: hanging indent::
2056 Field name (bold): First paragraph of field body begins
2057 with the field name inline.
2059 If the first item of a field body is not a paragraph,
2060 it would begin on the following line.
2062 * Add more support for <link> elements, especially for navigation
2065 The framework does not have a notion of document relationships, so
2066 probably raw.destination_ should be used.
2068 We'll have framework support for document relationships when support
2069 for `multiple output files`_ is added. The HTML writer could
2070 automatically generate <link> elements then.
2072 .. _raw.destination: misc.raw_
2074 * Base list compaction on the spacing of source list? Would require
2075 parser support. (Idea: fantasai, 16 Dec 2002, doc-sig.)
2077 * Add a tool tip ("title" attribute?) to footnote back-links
2078 identifying them as such. Text in Docutils language module.
2084 * Remove the generic style information (duplicated from html4css1.css)
2085 from pep.css to avoid redundancy.
2087 Needs support for multiple stylesheets in the PEP writer
2088 (is this inherited from HTML?).
2094 * Add a way to begin an untitled slide.
2096 * Add a way to begin a new slide, continuation, using the same title
2097 as the previous slide? (Unnecessary?) You need that if you have a
2098 lot of items in one section which don't fit on one slide.
2100 Maybe either this item or the previous one can be realized using
2103 * Have a timeout on incremental items, so the colour goes away after 1
2106 * Add an empty, black last slide (optionally). Currently the handling
2107 of the last slide is not very nice, it re-cycles through the
2108 incremental items on the last slide if you hit space-bar after the
2111 * Add a command-line option to disable advance-on-click.
2113 * Add a speaker's master document, which would contain a small version
2114 of the slide text with speaker's notes interspersed. The master
2115 document could use ``target="whatever"`` to direct links to a
2116 separate window on a second monitor (e.g., a projector).
2118 .. Note:: This item and the following items are partially
2119 accomplished by the S5 1.2 code (currently in alpha), which has
2120 not yet been integrated into Docutils.
2122 * Speaker's notes -- how to intersperse? Could use reST comments
2123 (".."), but make them visible in the speaker's master document. If
2124 structure is necessary, we could use a "comment" directive (to avoid
2125 nonsensical DTD changes, the "comment" directive could produce an
2126 untitled topic element).
2128 The speaker's notes could (should?) be separate from S5's handout
2131 * The speaker's master document could use frames for easy navigation:
2132 TOC on the left, content on the right.
2134 - It would be nice if clicking in the TOC frame simultaneously
2135 linked to both the speaker's notes frame and to the slide window,
2136 synchronizing both. Needs JavaScript?
2138 - TOC would have to be tightly formatted -- minimal indentation.
2140 - TOC auto-generated, as in the PEP Reader. (What if there already
2141 is a "contents" directive in the document?)
2143 - There could be another frame on the left (top-left or bottom-left)
2144 containing a single "Next" link, always pointing to the next slide
2145 (synchronized, of course). Also "Previous" link? FF/Rew go to
2146 the beginning of the next/current parent section? First/Last
2147 also? Tape-player-style buttons like ``|<< << < > >> >>|``?
2152 Add epub as an output format.
2154 Pack the output of a HTML writer and supporting files (e.g. images)
2155 into one single epub document.
2157 epub is an open file format for ebooks based on HTML, specified by the
2158 `International Digital Publishing Forum`_. Thus, documents in epub
2159 format are suited to be read with `electronic reading devices`_. The
2160 epub format comprises:
2162 * `Open Publication Structure (OPS)
2163 <http://www.idpf.org/2007/ops/OPS_2.0_final_spec.html>`_
2164 * `Open Packaging Format (OPF)
2165 <http://www.idpf.org/2007/opf/OPF_2.0_final_spec.html>`_
2166 * `OEBPS Container Format (OCF)
2167 <http://www.idpf.org/ocf/ocf1.0/download/ocf10.htm>`_
2171 There is a project for epub support with sphinx providing a
2172 (hopefully) reusable framework.
2174 .. _rst2epub: http://bitbucket.org/wierob/rst2epub/
2175 .. _International Digital Publishing Forum: http://www.idpf.org/
2176 .. _electronic reading devices:
2177 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_e-book_readers
2179 Also, the plasTeX_ Python package has an EPUB renderer:
2181 It simply calls the XHTML renderer and does the epub packaging in
2184 .. _plasTeX: http://plastex.sourceforge.net/
2190 Also see the Problems__ section in the `latex writer documentation`_.
2192 __ ../user/latex.html#problems
2194 .. _latex writer documentation: ../user/latex.html
2197 ../../../sandbox/latex-variants/README.html
2202 * A multirow cell in a table expects empty cells in the spanned rows while
2203 the doctree contains only the remaining cells ("Exchange Table Model", see
2204 docs/ref/soextblx.dtd).
2206 Needs bookkeeping of "open" multirow cells (how many how long) and
2207 insertion of additional '&'s.
2209 See `<../../test/functional/input/data/latex.txt>`__
2211 * Too deeply nested lists fail: generate a warning and provide
2214 * Spaces in inline literal text::
2217 spacing between the words of this sentence (words
2218 should be grouped in pairs).
2220 Discuss the desired behaviour and implement a consistent one.
2222 * An enumerated list in the docinfo fails (\newcounter definition inside
2225 * File names of included graphics (see also `grffile` package).
2227 Generate clean and configurable LaTeX source
2228 ----------------------------------------------
2230 * Check the generated source with package `nag`.
2232 Configurable placement of figure and table floats
2233 `````````````````````````````````````````````````
2235 * Special class argument to individually place figures?
2239 placement-<optional arg> -> \figure[<optional arg>]{...}
2241 e.g. ``.. class:: placement-htb``,
2246 :h: place-here-if-possible
2249 :p: place-on-extra-page
2251 e.g.: ``.. class:: place-here-if-possible place-top place-bottom``
2253 Maybe support both variants?
2256 LaTeX constructs and packages instead of re-implementations
2257 ```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
2259 Which packages do we want to use?
2261 + base and "recommended" packages
2263 (packages that should be in a "reasonably sized and reasonably modern
2264 LaTeX installation like the `texlive-latex-recommended` Debian package,
2267 + No "fancy" or "exotic" requirements.
2269 + pointers to advanced packages and their use in the `latex writer
2272 * ``alltt`` environment for literal block.
2276 + True footnotes with LaTeX auto-numbering (as option ``--latex-footnotes``)
2277 (also for target-footnotes):
2279 - attach footnote text to footnote-symobol node
2280 - write \footnote{<footnote text>}
2281 - consider cases where LaTeX does not support footnotes
2282 (inside tables, headings, ...)?
2283 - consider multiple footnote refs to common footnote text.
2287 If the symbol you want is not one of the ones listed, you'll need to
2288 redefine ``\@fnsymbol`` and add it, e.g. perhaps like::
2290 \def\@fnsymbol#1{\ifcase#1\hbox{}\or *\or \dagger\or \ddagger\or
2291 \mathchar "278\or \mathchar "27B\or \|\or **\or \dagger\dagger \or
2292 \ddagger\ddagger \or \mathchar"27C \else\@ctrerr\fi\relax}
2294 which would allow \symbolfootnote[10]{footnote} to have a club as its
2297 + document customization (links to how-to and packages):
2299 .. Footnote packages:
2301 :footnote: texlive-latex-recommended % savenotes environment
2302 :footmisc: texlive-latex-extra % formatting options
2303 :manyfoot: texlive-latex-extra
2304 :bigfoot: texlive-latex-extra
2305 :perpage: texlive-latex-extra
2306 :ftnxtra: new on CTAN
2307 fixes the issue of footnote inside \caption{},
2308 tabular environment and \section{} like commands.
2312 http://www2.informatik.hu-berlin.de/~ahamann/studies/footnotes.pdf
2316 `Footnotes whose texts are identical
2317 <http://www.tex.ac.uk/cgi-bin/texfaq2html?label=repfootnote>`__
2319 * label per hand or use footmisc
2321 `More than one sequence of footnotes
2322 <http://www.tex.ac.uk/cgi-bin/texfaq2html?label=multfoot>`__
2326 `Footnotes in tables
2327 <http://www.tex.ac.uk/cgi-bin/texfaq2html?label=footintab>`__
2329 * `tabularx` and longtable allow footnotes.
2330 * `footnote` provides a "savenotes" environment which collects all
2331 footnotes and emits them at ``end{savenotes}``
2333 `Footnotes in LaTeX section headings
2334 <http://www.tex.ac.uk/cgi-bin/texfaq2html?label=ftnsect>`__
2336 * Take advantage of the fact that the mandatory argument doesn't
2337 move if the optional argument is present::
2339 \section[title] {title\footnote{title ftnt}}
2341 * Use the footmisc package, with package option stable - this modifies
2342 footnotes so that they softly and silently vanish away if used in a
2347 `Footnotes numbered per page
2348 <http://www.tex.ac.uk/cgi-bin/texfaq2html?label=footnpp>`__
2350 * perpage provides a general mechanism for resetting counters per page
2351 * footmisc provides a package option perpage
2353 * enumeration environment, field list
2355 * use `mdwlist` from texlive-latex-recommended?
2357 * use `eqlist` (texlive-latex-extra) for field-lists?
2360 * ``--use-latex-when-possible`` »super option« that would set the
2363 --no-section-numbering
2366 --use-latex-abstract
2367 --use-latex-footnotes
2368 --use-latex-citations
2370 ? (My preference is to default to use-latex-* whenever possible [GM])
2376 * Use italic instead of slanted for titlereference?
2378 * Start a new paragraph after lists (as currently)
2379 or continue (no blank line in source, no parindent in output)?
2383 * continue if the `compound paragraph`_ directive is used, or
2384 * force a new paragraph with an empty comment.
2386 * Sidebar handling (environment with `framed`, `marginnote`, `wrapfig`,
2389 * Use optionlist for docinfo?
2391 * Keep literal-blocks together on a page, avoid pagebreaks.
2393 Failed experiments up to now: samepage, minipage, pagebreak 1 to 4 before
2396 Should be possible with ``--literal-block-env==lstlistings`` and some
2399 * More space between title and subtitle? ::
2402 + \\[0.5em] % subtitle%
2404 .. _PSNFSS documentation:
2405 http://mirror.ctan.org/macros/latex/required/psnfss/psnfss2e.pdf
2406 .. _compound paragraph:
2407 ../ref/rst/directives.html#compound-paragraph
2409 http://mirror.ctan.org/help/Catalogue/entries/fixltx2e.html
2414 * Improve/simplify logic to set the column width in the output.
2416 + Assumed reST line length for table width setting configurable, or
2417 + use `ltxtable` (a combination of `tabularx` (auto-width) and
2418 `longtable` (page breaks)), or
2419 + use tabularx column type ``X`` and let LaTeX decide width, or
2423 http://tug.ctan.org/cgi-bin/ctanPackageInformation.py?id=tabulary
2425 * From comp.text.tex (13. 4. 2011):
2427 When using fixed width columns, you should ensure that the total
2428 width does not exceed \linewidth: if the first column is p{6cm}
2429 the second one should be p{\dimexpr\linewidth-6cm-4\tabcolsep}
2430 because the glue \tabcolsep is added twice at every column edge.
2431 You may also consider to set \tabcolsep to a different value...
2433 * csv-tables do not have a colwidth.
2435 * Add more classes or options, e.g. for
2437 + column width set by latex,
2438 + horizontal alignment and rules.
2439 + long table vs. tabular (see next item).
2441 * Use tabular instead of longtable for tables in legends or generally
2444 Alternatively, default to tabular and use longtable only if specified
2445 by config setting or class argument (analogue to booktable)?
2447 * Table heads and footer for longtable (firstpage lastpage ..)?
2449 * In tools.txt the option tables right column, there should be some more
2450 spacing between the description and the next paragraph "Default:".
2452 * Paragraph separation in tables is hairy.
2453 see http://www.tex.ac.uk/cgi-bin/texfaq2html?label=struttab
2455 - The strut solution did not work.
2456 - setting extrarowheight added ad top of row not between paragraphs in
2457 a cell. ALTHOUGH i set it to 2pt because, text is too close to the topline.
2458 - baselineskip/stretch does not help.
2460 * Should there be two hlines after table head and on table end?
2462 * Place titled tables in a float ('table' environment)?
2464 The 'table', 'csv-table', and 'list-table' directives support an (optional)
2465 table title. In analogy to the 'figure' directive this should map to a
2468 Image and figure directives
2469 ```````````````````````````
2471 * compare the test case in:
2473 + `<../../test/functional/input/data/standard.txt>`__
2474 + `<../../test/functional/expected/standalone_rst_html4css1.html>`__
2475 + `<../../test/functional/expected/standalone_rst_latex.tex>`__
2477 * According to the HTML standard
2478 http://www.w3.org/TR/html4/struct/objects.html#adef-align-IMG a right- or
2479 left-aligned image should be floated alongside the paragraph.
2481 + Use this default also for LaTeX?
2483 + Wrap text around figures/images with class argument "wrap"
2484 (like the odt writer)?
2486 Use `wrapfig` (or other recommended) package.
2488 * support more graphic formats (especially SVG, the only standard
2489 vector format for HTML)
2491 There is a `SWF package`_ at CTAN.
2494 http://mirror.ctan.org/macros/latex/contrib/flashmovie
2500 * support "figwidth" argument for figures.
2502 As the 'figwidth' argument is still ignored and the "natural width" of
2503 a figure in LaTeX is 100 % of the text width, setting the 'align'
2504 argument has currently no effect on the LaTeX output.
2507 * Let `meta` directive insert PDF-keywords into header?
2509 * Multiple author entries in docinfo (same thing as in html).
2512 * Consider supporting the "compact" option and class argument (from
2513 rst2html) as some lists look better compact and others need the space.
2515 * Better citation support
2516 (see `Footnote & Citation Gathering`_).
2518 * If ``use-latex-citations`` is used, a bibliography is inserted right at the
2519 end of the document.
2521 Put in place of the to-be-implemented "citations" directive
2522 (see `Footnote & Citation Gathering`_).
2528 The `LyX <http://www.lyx.org>`_ document processor has a comprehensive
2529 Unicode to LaTeX conversion feature with a file called ``unicodesymbols``
2530 that lists LaTeX counterparts for a wide range of Unicode characters.
2532 * Use this in the LaTeXTranslator?
2533 Think of copyright issues!
2535 * The "ucs" package has many translations in ...doc/latex/ucs/config/
2537 * The bibstuff_ tool ships a `latex_codec` Python module!
2539 .. _bibstuff: http://code.google.com/p/bibstuff/
2541 Allow choice between utf8 (standard) and utf8x (extended) encodings
2542 ```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````
2544 * Allow the user to select *utf8* or *utf8x* LaTeX encoding. (Docutil's
2545 output encoding becomes LaTeX's input encoding.)
2547 The `ucs` package provides extended support for UTF-8 encoding in LaTeX
2548 via the `inputenc`-option ``utf8x``. It is, however, a non-standard
2549 extension and no longer developed.
2552 a) Python has 4 names for the UTF-8 encoding (``utf_8, U8, UTF, utf8``)
2553 give a special meaning to one of the aliases,
2555 b) scan "stylesheets" and "latex-preamble" options and use ``utf8x``
2556 if it contains ``ucs``
2561 * Glyphs missing in the font are left out in the PDF without warning
2562 (e.g. ⇔ left-right double arrow in the functional test output).
2564 * Disable word-wrap (hyphenation) in literal text locally with
2565 ``providecommand{\nohyphenation}{\addfontfeatures{HyphenChar=None}}``?
2571 * ^^ LaTeX's special syntax for characters results in "strange" replacements
2572 (both with \href and \url).
2574 `file with ^^ <../strange^^name>`__:
2575 `<../strange^^name>`__
2577 * Unbalanced braces, { or }, will fail (both with \href and \url)::
2579 `file with { <../strange{name>`__
2580 `<../strange{name>`__
2582 Currently, a warning is written to the error output stream.
2584 For correct printing, we can
2586 * use the \href command with "normal" escaped name argument, or
2587 * define a url-command in the preamble ::
2589 \urldef{\fragileURLi}\nolinkurl{myself%node@gateway.net}
2591 but need to find a way to insert it as href argument.
2593 The following fails::
2595 \href{http://www.w3.org/XML/Schema^^dev}{\fragileURLi}
2597 Use %-replacement like http://nowhere/url_with%28parens%29 ?
2599 -> does not work for file paths (with pdflatex and xpdf).
2602 add-stylesheet option
2603 `````````````````````
2605 From http://article.gmane.org/gmane.text.docutils.devel/3429/
2607 The problem is that since we have a default value, we have to
2608 differentiate between adding another stylesheet and replacing the
2609 default. I suggest that the existing --stylesheet & --stylesheet-path
2610 options keep their semantics to replace the existing settings. We
2611 could introduce new --add-stylesheet & --add-stylesheet-path options,
2612 which accumulate; further --stylesheet/--stylesheet-path options would
2613 clear these lists. The stylesheet or stylesheet_path setting (only
2614 one may be set), plus the added_stylesheets and added_stylesheet_paths
2615 settings, describe the combined styles.
2617 For example, this run will have only one custom stylesheet:
2619 rstpep2html.py --stylesheet-path custom.css ...
2621 This run will use the default stylesheet, and the custom one:
2623 rstpep2html.py --add-stylesheet-path custom.css ...
2625 This run will use the default stylesheet, a custom local stylesheet,
2626 and an external stylesheet:
2628 rstpep2html.py --add-stylesheet-path custom.css \
2629 --add-stylesheet http://www.example.org/external.css ...
2631 This run will use only the second custom stylesheet:
2633 rstpep2html.py --add-stylesheet-path custom.css \
2634 --stylesheet-path second.css ...
2642 * What about if we don't know which Reader and/or Writer we are
2643 going to use? If the Reader/Writer is specified on the
2644 command-line? (Will this ever happen?)
2646 Perhaps have different types of front ends:
2648 a) _`Fully qualified`: Reader and Writer are hard-coded into the
2649 front end (e.g. ``pep2html [options]``, ``pysource2pdf
2652 b) _`Partially qualified`: Reader is hard-coded, and the Writer is
2653 specified a sub-command (e.g. ``pep2 html [options]``,
2654 ``pysource2 pdf [options]``). The Writer is known before option
2655 processing happens, allowing the OptionParser to be built
2656 dynamically. Alternatively, the Writer could be hard-coded and
2657 the Reader specified as a sub-command (e.g. ``htmlfrom pep
2660 c) _`Unqualified`: Reader and Writer are specified as subcommands
2661 (e.g. ``publish pep html [options]``, ``publish pysource pdf
2662 [options]``). A single front end would be sufficient, but
2663 probably only useful for testing purposes.
2665 d) _`Dynamic`: Reader and/or Writer are specified by options, with
2666 defaults if unspecified (e.g. ``publish --writer pdf
2667 [options]``). Is this possible? The option parser would have
2668 to be told about new options it needs to handle, on the fly.
2669 Component-specific options would have to be specified *after*
2670 the component-specifying option.
2672 Allow common options before subcommands, as in CVS? Or group all
2673 options together? In the case of the `fully qualified`_
2674 front ends, all the options will have to be grouped together
2675 anyway, so there's no advantage (we can't use it to avoid
2676 conflicts) to splitting common and component-specific options
2679 * Parameterize help text & defaults somehow? Perhaps a callback? Or
2680 initialize ``settings_spec`` in ``__init__`` or ``init_options``?
2682 * Disable common options that don't apply?
2683 (This should now be easier with ``frontend.filter_settings_spec``.)
2685 * Add ``--section-numbering`` command line option. The "sectnum"
2686 directive should override the ``--no-section-numbering`` command
2689 * Create a single dynamic_ or unqualified_ front end that can be
2696 indent-tabs-mode: nil
2697 sentence-end-double-space: t