\documentclass{howto}

\usepackage{ltxmarkup}

\title{Documenting Python}

\makeindex

\input{boilerplate}

% Now override the stuff that includes author information;

% Guido did *not* write this one!

\author{Fred L. Drake, Jr.}

\authoraddress{

PythonLabs \\

Email: \email{[email protected]}

}

\begin{document}

\maketitle

\begin{abstract}

\noindent

The Python language 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.

This document describes the macros introduced to support Python

documentation and how they should be used to support a wide range of

output formats.

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 \label{intro}}

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 the documentation could

be more complete or 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.

This document is aimed at authors and potential authors of

documentation for Python. More specifically, it is for people

contributing to the standard documentation and developing additional

documents using the same tools as the standard documents. This

guide will be less useful for authors using the Python documentation

tools for topics other than Python, and less useful still for

authors not using the tools at all.

The material in this guide is intended to assist authors using the

Python documentation tools. It includes information on the source

distribution of the standard documentation, a discussion of the

document types, reference material on the markup defined in the

document classes, a list of the external tools needed for processing

documents, and reference material on the tools provided with the

documentation resources. At the end, there is also a section

discussing future directions for the Python documentation and where

to turn for more information.

\section{Directory Structure \label{directories}}

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 directory \file{Doc/}, but

are not dependent on the Python source distribution in any way.

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

names which vaguely indicate the document in each:

\begin{tableii}{p{.75in}|p{3in}}{filenq}{Directory}{Document Title}

\lineii{api/}

{\citetitle[../api/api.html]{The Python/C API}}

\lineii{dist/}

{\citetitle[../dist/dist.html]{Distributing Python Modules}}

\lineii{doc/}

{\citetitle[../doc/doc.html]{Documenting Python}}

\lineii{ext/}

{\citetitle[../ext/ext.html]{Extending and Embedding the Python Interpreter}}

\lineii{inst/}

{\citetitle[../inst/inst.html]{Installing Python Modules}}

\lineii{lib/}

{\citetitle[../lib/lib.html]{Python Library Reference}}

\lineii{mac/}

{\citetitle[../mac/mac.html]{Macintosh Module Reference}}

\lineii{ref/}

{\citetitle[../ref/ref.html]{Python Reference Manual}}

\lineii{tut/}

{\citetitle[../tut/tut.html]{Python Tutorial}}

\end{tableii}

\term{Format-Specific Output}

Most output formats have a directory which contains a

\file{Makefile} which controls the generation of that format

and provides storage for the formatted documents. The only

variations within this category are the Portable Document

Format (PDF) and PostScript versions are placed in the

directories \file{paper-a4/} and \file{paper-letter/} (this

causes all the temporary files created by \LaTeX{} to be kept

in the same place for each paper size, where they can be more

easily ignored).

\begin{tableii}{p{.75in}|p{3in}}{filenq}{Directory}{Output Formats}

\lineii{html/}{HTML output}

\lineii{info/}{GNU info output}

\lineii{isilo/}{\ulink{iSilo}{http://www.isilo.com/}

documents (for Palm OS devices)}

\lineii{paper-a4/}{PDF and PostScript, A4 paper}

\lineii{paper-letter/}{PDF and PostScript, US-Letter paper}

\end{tableii}

\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.

\begin{tableii}{p{.75in}|p{3in}}{filenq}{Directory}{Contents}

\lineii{perl/}{Support for \LaTeX2HTML processing}

\lineii{templates/}{Example files for source documents}

\lineii{texinputs/}{Style implementation for \LaTeX}

\lineii{tools/}{Custom processing scripts}

\end{tableii}

\end{definitions}

\section{Style Guide \label{style-guide}}

The Python documentation should follow the \citetitle

[http://developer.apple.com/techpubs/macos8/pdf/apple_styleguide00.pdf]

{Apple Publications Style Guide} wherever possible. This particular

style guide was selected mostly because it seems reasonable and is

easy to get online. (Printed copies are available; see the Apple's

\citetitle[http://developer.apple.com/techpubs/faq.html]{Developer

Documentation FAQ} for more information.)

Topics which are not covered in the Apple's style guide will be

discussed in this document if necessary.

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, most of 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.

Other terms and words deserve special mention as well; these conventions

should be used to ensure consistency throughout the documentation:

\begin{description}

\item[CPU]

For ``central processing unit.'' Many style guides say this

should be spelled out on the first use (and if you must use it,

do so!). For the Python documentation, this abbreviation should

be avoided since there's no reasonable way to predict which occurance

will be the first seen by the reader. It is better to use the

word ``processor'' instead.

\item[\POSIX]

The name assigned to a particular group of standards. This is

always uppercase. Use the macro \macro{POSIX} to represent this

name.

\item[Python]

The name of our favorite programming language is always

capitalized.

\item[Unicode]

The name of a character set and matching encoding. This is

always written capitalized.

\item[\UNIX]

The name of the operating system developed at AT\&T Bell Labs

in the early 1970s. Use the macro \macro{UNIX} to use this name.

\end{description}

\section{\LaTeX{} Primer \label{latex-primer}}

This section is a brief introduction to \LaTeX{} concepts and

syntax, to provide authors enough information to author documents

productively without having to become ``\TeX{}nicians.''

Perhaps the most important concept to keep in mind while marking up

Python documentation is that while \TeX{} is unstructured, \LaTeX{} was

designed as a layer on top of \TeX{} which specifically supports

structured markup. The Python-specific markup is intended to extend

the structure provided by standard \LaTeX{} document classes to

support additional information specific to Python.

\LaTeX{} documents contain two parts: the preamble and the body.

The preamble is used to specify certain metadata about the document

itself, such as the title, the list of authors, the date, and the

\emph{class} the document belongs to. Additional information used

to control index generation and the use of bibliographic databases

can also be placed in the preamble. For most authors, the preamble

can be most easily created by copying it from an existing document

and modifying a few key pieces of information.

The \dfn{class} of a document is used to place a document within a

broad category of documents and set some fundamental formatting

properties. For Python documentation, two classes are used: the

\code{manual} class and the \code{howto} class. These classes also

define the additional markup used to document Python concepts and

structures. Specific information about these classes is provided in

section \ref{classes}, ``Document Classes,'' below. The first thing

in the preamble is the declaration of the document's class.

After the class declaration, a number of \emph{macros} are used to

provide further information about the document and setup any

additional markup that is needed. No output is generated from the

preamble; it is an error to include free text in the preamble

because it would cause output.

The document body follows the preamble. This contains all the

printed components of the document marked up structurally. Generic

\LaTeX{} structures include hierarchical sections, numbered and

bulleted lists, and special structures for the document abstract and

indexes.

\subsection{Syntax \label{latex-syntax}}

There are some things that an author of Python documentation needs

to know about \LaTeX{} syntax.

A \dfn{comment} is started by the ``percent'' character

(\character{\%}) and continues through the end of the line and all

leading whitespace on the following line. This is a little

different from any programming language I know of, so an example

is in order:

\begin{verbatim}

This is text.% comment

This is more text. % another comment

Still more text.

\end{verbatim}

The first non-comment character following the first comment is the

letter \character{T} on the second line; the leading whitespace on

that line is consumed as part of the first comment. This means

that there is no space between the first and second sentences, so

the period and letter \character{T} will be directly adjacent in

the typeset document.

Note also that though the first non-comment character after the

second comment is the letter \character{S}, there is whitespace

preceding the comment, so the two sentences are separated as

expected.

A \dfn{group} is an enclosure for a collection of text and

commands which encloses the formatting context and constrains the

scope of any changes to that context made by commands within the

group. Groups can be nested hierarchically. The formatting

context includes the font and the definition of additional macros

(or overrides of macros defined in outer groups). Syntactically,

groups are enclosed in braces:

\begin{verbatim}

{text in a group}

\end{verbatim}

An alternate syntax for a group using brackets, \code{[...]}, is

used by macros and environment constructors which take optional

parameters; brackets do not normally hold syntactic significance.

A degenerate group, containing only one atomic bit of content,

does not need to have an explicit group, unless it is required to

avoid ambiguity. Since Python tends toward the explicit, groups

are also made explicit in the documentation markup.

Groups are used only sparingly in the Python documentation, except

for their use in marking parameters to macros and environments.

A \dfn{macro} is usually a simple construct which is identified by

name and can take some number of parameters. In normal \LaTeX{}

usage, one of these can be optional. The markup is introduced

using the backslash character (\character{\e}), and the name is

given by alphabetic characters (no digits, hyphens, or

underscores). Required parameters should be marked as a group,

and optional parameters should be marked using the alternate

syntax for a group.

For example, a macro named ``foo'' which takes a single parameter

would appear like this:

\begin{verbatim}

\name{parameter}

\end{verbatim}

A macro which takes an optional parameter would be typed like this

when the optional paramter is given:

\begin{verbatim}

\name[optional]

\end{verbatim}

If both optional and required parameters are to be required, it

looks like this:

\begin{verbatim}

\name[optional]{required}

\end{verbatim}

A macro name may be followed by a space or newline; a space

between the macro name and any parameters will be consumed, but

this usage is not practiced in the Python documentation. Such a

space is still consumed if there are no parameters to the macro,

in which case inserting an empty group (\code{\{\}}) or explicit

word space (\samp{\e\ }) immediately after the macro name helps to

avoid running the expansion of the macro into the following text.

Macros which take no parameters but which should not be followed

by a word space do not need special treatment if the following

character in the document source if not a name character (such as

punctuation).

Each line of this example shows an appropriate way to write text

which includes a macro which takes no parameters:

\begin{verbatim}

This \UNIX{} is followed by a space.

This \UNIX\ is also followed by a space.

\UNIX, followed by a comma, needs no additional markup.

\end{verbatim}

An \dfn{environment} is a larger construct than a macro, and can

be used for things with more content than would conveniently fit

in a macro parameter. They are primarily used when formatting

parameters need to be changed before and after a large chunk of

content, but the content itself needs to be highly flexible. Code

samples are presented using an environment, and descriptions of

functions, methods, and classes are also marked using environments.

Since the content of an environment is free-form and can consist

of several paragraphs, they are actually marked using a pair of

macros: \macro{begin} and \macro{end}. These macros both take the

name of the environment as a parameter. An example is the

environment used to mark the abstract of a document:

\begin{verbatim}

\begin{abstract}

This is the text of the abstract. It concisely explains what

information is found in the document.

It can consist of multiple paragraphs.

\end{abstract}

\end{verbatim}

An environment can also have required and optional parameters of

its own. These follow the parameter of the \macro{begin} macro.

This example shows an environment which takes a single required

parameter:

\begin{verbatim}

\begin{datadesc}{controlnames}

A 33-element string array that contains the \ASCII{} mnemonics for

the thirty-two \ASCII{} control characters from 0 (NUL) to 0x1f

(US), in order, plus the mnemonic \samp{SP} for the space character.

\end{datadesc}

\end{verbatim}

There are a number of less-used marks in \LaTeX{} which are used

to enter characters which are not found in \ASCII{} or which a

considered special, or \emph{active} in \TeX{} or \LaTeX. Given

that these are often used adjacent to other characters, the markup

required to produce the proper character may need to be followed

by a space or an empty group, or the markup can be enclosed in a

group. Some which are found in Python documentation are:

\begin{tableii}{c|l}{textrm}{Character}{Markup}

\lineii{\textasciicircum}{\code{\e textasciicircum}}

\lineii{\textasciitilde}{\code{\e textasciitilde}}

\lineii{\textgreater}{\code{\e textgreater}}

\lineii{\textless}{\code{\e textless}}

\lineii{\c c}{\code{\e c c}}

\lineii{\"o}{\code{\e"o}}

\lineii{\o}{\code{\e o}}

\end{tableii}

\subsection{Hierarchical Structure \label{latex-structure}}

\LaTeX{} expects documents to be arranged in a conventional,

hierarchical way, with chapters, sections, sub-sections,

appendixes, and the like. These are marked using macros rather

than environments, probably because the end of a section can be

safely inferred when a section of equal or higher level starts.

There are six ``levels'' of sectioning in the document classes

used for Python documentation, and the deepest two

levels\footnote{The deepest levels have the highest numbers in the

table.} are not used. The levels are:

\begin{tableiii}{c|l|c}{textrm}{Level}{Macro Name}{Notes}

\lineiii{1}{\macro{chapter}}{(1)}

\lineiii{2}{\macro{section}}{}

\lineiii{3}{\macro{subsection}}{}

\lineiii{4}{\macro{subsubsection}}{}

\lineiii{5}{\macro{paragraph}}{(2)}

\lineiii{6}{\macro{subparagraph}}{}

\end{tableiii}

\noindent

Notes:

\begin{description}

\item[(1)]

Only used for the \code{manual} documents, as described in

section \ref{classes}, ``Document Classes.''

\item[(2)]

Not the same as a paragraph of text; nobody seems to use this.

\end{description}

\section{Document Classes \label{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 \citetitle[../ref/ref.html]{Python Reference

Manual} is a good example of a \code{manual} document, and the

\citetitle[../lib/lib.html]{Python Library Reference} is a large

example.

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

broader. 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

\citetitle[http://starship.python.net/crew/fdrake/manuals/krb5py/krb5py.html]{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{Special Markup Constructs \label{special-constructs}}

The Python document classes define a lot of new environments and

macros. This section contains the reference material for these

facilities.

\subsection{Markup for the Preamble \label{preamble-info}}

\begin{macrodesc}{release}{\p{ver}}

Set the version number for the software described in the

document.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{setshortversion}{\p{sver}}

Specify the ``short'' version number of the documented software

to be \var{sver}.

\end{macrodesc}

\subsection{Meta-information Markup \label{meta-info}}

\begin{macrodesc}{sectionauthor}{\p{author}\p{email}}

Identifies the author of the current section. \var{author}

should be the author's name such that it can be used for

presentation (though it isn't), and \var{email} should be the

author's email address. The domain name portion of

the address should be lower case.

No presentation is generated from this markup, but it is used to

help keep track of contributions.

\end{macrodesc}

\subsection{Information Units \label{info-units}}

XXX Explain terminology, or come up with something more ``lay.''

There are a number of environments used to describe specific

features provided by modules. Each environment requires

parameters needed to provide basic information about what is being

described, and the environment content should be the description.

Most of these environments make entries in the general index (if

one is being produced for the document); if no index entry is

desired, non-indexing variants are available for many of these

environments. The environments have names of the form

\code{\var{feature}desc}, and the non-indexing variants are named

\code{\var{feature}descni}. The available variants are explicitly

included in the list below.

For each of these environments, the first parameter, \var{name},

provides the name by which the feature is accessed.

Environments which describe features of objects within a module,

such as object methods or data attributes, allow an optional

\var{type name} parameter. When the feature is an attribute of

class instances, \var{type name} only needs to be given if the

class was not the most recently described class in the module; the

\var{name} value from the most recent \env{classdesc} is implied.

For features of built-in or extension types, the \var{type name}

value should always be provided. Another special case includes

methods and members of general ``protocols,'' such as the

formatter and writer protocols described for the

\module{formatter} module: these may be documented without any

specific implementation classes, and will always require the

\var{type name} parameter to be provided.

\begin{envdesc}{cfuncdesc}{\p{type}\p{name}\p{args}}

Environment used to described a C function. The \var{type}

should be specified as a \keyword{typedef} name, \code{struct

\var{tag}}, or the name of a primitive type. If it is a pointer

type, the trailing asterisk should not be preceded by a space.

\var{name} should be the name of the function (or function-like

pre-processor macro), and \var{args} should give the types and

names of the parameters. The names need to be given so they may

be used in the description.

\end{envdesc}

\begin{envdesc}{cmemberdesc}{\p{container}\p{type}\p{name}}

Description for a structure member. \var{container} should be

the \keyword{typedef} name, if there is one, otherwise if should

be \samp{struct \var{tag}}. The type of the member should given

as \var{type}, and the name should be given as \var{name}. The

text of the description should include the range of values

allowed, how the value should be interpreted, and whether the

value can be changed. References to structure members in text

should use the \macro{member} macro.

\end{envdesc}

\begin{envdesc}{csimplemacrodesc}{\p{name}}

Documentation for a ``simple'' macro. Simple macros are macros

which are used for code expansion, but which do not take

arguments so cannot be described as functions. This is not to

be used for simple constant definitions. Examples of it's use

in the Python documentation include

\csimplemacro{PyObject_HEAD} and

\csimplemacro{Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS}.

\end{envdesc}

\begin{envdesc}{ctypedesc}{\op{tag}\p{name}}

Environment used to described a C type. The \var{name}

parameter should be the \keyword{typedef} name. If the type is

defined as a \keyword{struct} without a \keyword{typedef},

\var{name} should have the form \code{struct \var{tag}}.

\var{name} will be added to the index unless \var{tag} is

provided, in which case \var{tag} will be used instead.

\var{tag} should not be used for a \keyword{typedef} name.

\end{envdesc}

\begin{envdesc}{cvardesc}{\p{type}\p{name}}

Description of a global C variable. \var{type} should be the

\keyword{typedef} name, \code{struct \var{tag}}, or the name of

a primitive type. If variable has a pointer type, the trailing

asterisk should \emph{not} be preceded by a space.

\end{envdesc}

\begin{envdesc}{datadesc}{\p{name}}

This environment is used to document global data in a module,

including both variables and values used as ``defined

constants.'' Class and object attributes are not documented

using this environment.

\end{envdesc}

\begin{envdesc}{datadescni}{\p{name}}

Like \env{datadesc}, but without creating any index entries.

\end{envdesc}

\begin{envdesc}{excclassdesc}{\p{name}\p{constructor parameters}}

Descibe an exception defined by a class. \var{constructor

parameters} should not include the \var{self} parameter or

the parentheses used in the call syntax. To describe an

exception class without describing the parameters to its

constructor, use the \env{excdesc} environment.

\end{envdesc}

\begin{envdesc}{excdesc}{\p{name}}

Describe an exception. This may be either a string exception or

a class exception. In the case of class exceptions, the

constructor parameters are not described; use \env{excclassdesc}

to describe an exception class and its constructor.

\end{envdesc}

\begin{envdesc}{funcdesc}{\p{name}\p{parameters}}

Describe a module-level function. \var{parameters} should

not include the parentheses used in the call syntax. Object

methods are not documented using this environment. Bound object

methods placed in the module namespace as part of the public

interface of the module are documented using this, as they are

equivalent to normal functions for most purposes.

The description should include information about the parameters

required and how they are used (especially whether mutable

objects passed as parameters are modified), side effects, and

possible exceptions. A small example may be provided.

\end{envdesc}

\begin{envdesc}{funcdescni}{\p{name}\p{parameters}}

Like \env{funcdesc}, but without creating any index entries.

\end{envdesc}

\begin{envdesc}{classdesc}{\p{name}\p{constructor parameters}}

Describe a class and its constructor. \var{constructor

parameters} should not include the \var{self} parameter or

the parentheses used in the call syntax.

\end{envdesc}

\begin{envdesc}{classdesc*}{\p{name}}

Describe a class without describing the constructor. This can

be used to describe classes that are merely containers for

attributes or which should never be instantiated or subclassed

by user code.

\end{envdesc}

\begin{envdesc}{memberdesc}{\op{type name}\p{name}}

Describe an object data attribute. The description should

include information about the type of the data to be expected

and whether it may be changed directly.

\end{envdesc}

\begin{envdesc}{memberdescni}{\op{type name}\p{name}}

Like \env{memberdesc}, but without creating any index entries.

\end{envdesc}

\begin{envdesc}{methoddesc}{\op{type name}\p{name}\p{parameters}}

Describe an object method. \var{parameters} should not include

the \var{self} parameter or the parentheses used in the call

syntax. The description should include similar information to

that described for \env{funcdesc}.

\end{envdesc}

\begin{envdesc}{methoddescni}{\op{type name}\p{name}\p{parameters}}

Like \env{methoddesc}, but without creating any index entries.

\end{envdesc}

\subsection{Showing Code Examples \label{showing-examples}}

Examples of Python source code or interactive sessions are

represented as \env{verbatim} environments. This environment

is a standard part of \LaTeX{}. It is important to only use

spaces for indentation in code examples since \TeX{} drops tabs

instead of converting them to spaces.

Representing an interactive session requires including the prompts

and output along with the Python code. No special markup is

required for interactive sessions. After the last line of input

or output presented, there should not be an ``unused'' primary

prompt; this is an example of what \emph{not} to do:

\begin{verbatim}

>>> 1 + 1

2

>>>

\end{verbatim}

Within the \env{verbatim} environment, characters special to

\LaTeX{} do not need to be specially marked in any way. The entire

example will be presented in a monospaced font; no attempt at

``pretty-printing'' is made, as the environment must work for

non-Python code and non-code displays. There should be no blank

lines at the top or bottom of any \env{verbatim} display.

Longer displays of verbatim text may be included by storing the

example text in an external file containing only plain text. The

file may be included using the standard \macro{verbatiminput}

macro; this macro takes a single argument naming the file

containing the text. For example, to include the Python source

file \file{example.py}, use:

\begin{verbatim}

\verbatiminput{example.py}

\end{verbatim}

Use of \macro{verbatiminput} allows easier use of special editing

modes for the included file. The file should be placed in the

same directory as the \LaTeX{} files for the document.

The Python Documentation Special Interest Group has discussed a

number of approaches to creating pretty-printed code displays and

interactive sessions; see the Doc-SIG area on the Python Web site

for more information on this topic.

\subsection{Inline Markup \label{inline-markup}}

The macros described in this section are used to mark just about

anything interesting in the document text. They may be used in

headings (though anything involving hyperlinks should be avoided

there) as well as in the body text.

\begin{macrodesc}{bfcode}{\p{text}}

Like \macro{code}, but also makes the font bold-face.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{cdata}{\p{name}}

The name of a C-language variable.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{cfunction}{\p{name}}

The name of a C-language function. \var{name} should include the

function name and the trailing parentheses.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{character}{\p{char}}

A character when discussing the character rather than a one-byte

string value. The character will be typeset as with \macro{samp}.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{citetitle}{\op{url}\p{title}}

A title for a referenced publication. If \var{url} is specified,

the title will be made into a hyperlink when formatted as HTML.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{class}{\p{name}}

A class name; a dotted name may be used.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{code}{\p{text}}

A short code fragment or literal constant value. Typically, it

should not include any spaces since no quotation marks are

added.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{constant}{\p{name}}

The name of a ``defined'' constant. This may be a C-language

\code{\#define} or a Python variable that is not intended to be

changed.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{csimplemacro}{\p{name}}

The name of a ``simple'' macro. Simple macros are macros

which are used for code expansion, but which do not take

arguments so cannot be described as functions. This is not to

be used for simple constant definitions. Examples of it's use

in the Python documentation include

\csimplemacro{PyObject_HEAD} and

\csimplemacro{Py_BEGIN_ALLOW_THREADS}.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{ctype}{\p{name}}

The name of a C \keyword{typedef} or structure. For structures

defined without a \keyword{typedef}, use \code{\e ctype\{struct

struct_tag\}} to make it clear that the \keyword{struct} is

required.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{deprecated}{\p{version}\p{what to do}}

Declare whatever is being described as being deprecated starting

with release \var{version}. The text given as \var{what to do}

should recommend something to use instead. It should be

complete sentences. The entire deprecation notice will be

presented as a separate paragraph; it should either preceed or

succeed the description of the deprecated feature.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{dfn}{\p{term}}

Mark the defining instance of \var{term} in the text. (No index

entries are generated.)

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{e}{}

Produces a backslash. This is convenient in \macro{code} and

similar macros, and is only defined there. To create a

backslash in ordinary text (such as the contents of the

\macro{file} macro), use the standard \macro{textbackslash} macro.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{email}{\p{address}}

An email address. Note that this is \emph{not} hyperlinked in

any of the possible output formats. The domain name portion of

the address should be lower case.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{emph}{\p{text}}

Emphasized text; this will be presented in an italic font.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{envvar}{\p{name}}

An environment variable. Index entries are generated.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{exception}{\p{name}}

The name of an exception. A dotted name may be used.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{file}{\p{file or dir}}

The name of a file or directory. In the PDF and PostScript

outputs, single quotes and a font change are used to indicate

the file name, but no quotes are used in the HTML output.

\warning{The \macro{file} macro cannot be used in the

content of a section title due to processing limitations.}

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{filenq}{\p{file or dir}}

Like \macro{file}, but single quotes are never used. This can

be used in conjunction with tables if a column will only contain

file or directory names.

\warning{The \macro{filenq} macro cannot be used in the

content of a section title due to processing limitations.}

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{function}{\p{name}}

The name of a Python function; dotted names may be used.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{infinity}{}

The symbol for mathematical infinity: \infinity. Some Web

browsers are not able to render the HTML representation of this

symbol properly, but support is growing.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{kbd}{\p{key sequence}}

Mark a sequence of keystrokes. What form \var{key sequence}

takes may depend on platform- or application-specific

conventions. When there are no relevant conventions, the names

of modifier keys should be spelled out, to improve accessibility

for new users and non-native speakers. For example, an

\program{xemacs} key sequence may be marked like

\code{\e kbd\{C-x C-f\}}, but without reference to a specific

application or platform, the same sequence should be marked as

\code{\e kbd\{Control-x Control-f\}}.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{keyword}{\p{name}}

The name of a keyword in a programming language.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{mailheader}{\p{name}}

The name of an \rfc{822}-style mail header. This markup does

not imply that the header is being used in an email message, but

can be used to refer to any header of the same ``style.'' This

is also used for headers defined by the various MIME

specifications. The header name should be entered in the same

way it would normally be found in practice, with the

camel-casing conventions being preferred where there is more

than one common usage. The colon which follows the name of the

header should not be included.

For example: \code{\e mailheader\{Content-Type\}}.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{makevar}{\p{name}}

The name of a \program{make} variable.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{manpage}{\p{name}\p{section}}

A reference to a \UNIX{} manual page.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{member}{\p{name}}

The name of a data attribute of an object.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{method}{\p{name}}

The name of a method of an object. \var{name} should include the

method name and the trailing parentheses. A dotted name may be

used.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{mimetype}{\p{name}}

The name of a MIME type, or a component of a MIME type (the

major or minor portion, taken alone).

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{module}{\p{name}}

The name of a module; a dotted name may be used. This should

also be used for package names.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{newsgroup}{\p{name}}

The name of a Usenet newsgroup.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{note}{\p{text}}

An especially important bit of information about an API that a

user should be aware of when using whatever bit of API the

note pertains to. This should be the last thing in the

paragraph as the end of the note is not visually marked in

any way. The content of \var{text} should be written in

complete sentences and include all appropriate punctuation.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{pep}{\p{number}}

A reference to a Python Enhancement Proposal. This generates

appropriate index entries. The text \samp{PEP \var{number}} is

generated; in the HTML output, this text is a hyperlink to an

online copy of the specified PEP.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{plusminus}{}

The symbol for indicating a value that may take a positive or

negative value of a specified magnitude, typically represented

by a plus sign placed over a minus sign. For example:

\code{\e plusminus 3\%{}}.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{program}{\p{name}}

The name of an executable program. This may differ from the

file name for the executable for some platforms. In particular,

the \file{.exe} (or other) extension should be omitted for DOS

and Windows programs.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{programopt}{\p{option}}

A command-line option to an executable program. Use this only

for ``short'' options, and include the leading hyphen.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{longprogramopt}{\p{option}}

A long command-line option to an executable program. This

should only be used for long option names which will be prefixed

by two hyphens; the hyphens should not be provided as part of

\var{option}.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{refmodule}{\op{key}\p{name}}

Like \macro{module}, but create a hyperlink to the documentation

for the named module. Note that the corresponding

\macro{declaremodule} must be in the same document. If the

\macro{declaremodule} defines a module key different from the

module name, it must also be provided as \var{key} to the

\macro{refmodule} macro.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{regexp}{\p{string}}

Mark a regular expression.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{rfc}{\p{number}}

A reference to an Internet Request for Comments. This generates

appropriate index entries. The text \samp{RFC \var{number}} is

generated; in the HTML output, this text is a hyperlink to an

online copy of the specified RFC.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{samp}{\p{text}}

A short code sample, but possibly longer than would be given

using \macro{code}. Since quotation marks are added, spaces are

acceptable.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{shortversion}{}

The ``short'' version number of the documented software, as

specified using the \macro{setshortversion} macro in the

preamble. For Python, the short version number for a release is

the first three characters of the \code{sys.version} value. For

example, versions 2.0b1 and 2.0.1 both have a short version of

2.0. This may not apply for all packages; if

\macro{setshortversion} is not used, this produces an empty

expansion. See also the \macro{version} macro.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{strong}{\p{text}}

Strongly emphasized text; this will be presented using a bold

font.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{ulink}{\p{text}\p{url}}

A hypertext link with a target specified by a URL, but for which

the link text should not be the title of the resource. For

resources being referenced by name, use the \macro{citetitle}

macro. Not all formatted versions support arbitrary hypertext

links. Note that many characters are special to \LaTeX{} and

this macro does not always do the right thing. In particular,

the tilde character (\character{\~}) is mis-handled; encoding it

as a hex-sequence does work, use \samp{\%7e} in place of the

tilde character.

\end{macrodesc}

\begin{macrodesc}{url}{\p{url}}