[Doc-SIG] Update to Docutils
David Goodger
goodger@python.org
Fri, 15 Nov 2002 21:56:06 -0500
As always, the latest CVS snapshot can be had from
http://docutils.sf.net/docutils-snapshot.tgz
Embedded URIs in Hyperlink References
=====================================
Back in June, Simon Budig proposed a new syntax for reStructuredText
hyperlinks, to allow target URIs/URLs to be specified inline with the
reference in the text. I was initially ambivalent/against the
proposal (a similar mechanism was one of the flaws I found in my
analysis of StructuredText!). One of the core values of
reStructuredText is its readability, and although the proposed syntax
offers convenience, I wasn't sure if the convenience was worth the
cost.
After a great deal of thought and much input from users, I've decided
that there are reasonable use cases for such a construct, and we've
settled on a reasonable syntax. The following syntax will be used::
See the `Python home page <http://www.python.org>`_ for info.
This is exactly equivalent to::
See the `Python home page`_ for info.
.. _Python home page: http://www.python.org
As with the non-embedded reference forms, a single trailing underscore
means "named", and you can use the same name to reference the same
target URI again. Two trailing underscores means "anonymous"; the
target URI cannot be referenced again.
Full details can be found in the spec:
http://docutils.sf.net/spec/rst/reStructuredText.html#embedded-uris
Details of the issues considered and alternatives weighed can be found
here:
http://docutils.sf.net/spec/rst/alternatives.html#inline-external-targets
Recognition of Schemeless Email Addresses in Targets
====================================================
The parser has always recognized bare standalone email addresses in
text, like "Send email to jdoe@example.com", automatically prefixing a
"mailto:" URI scheme. I noticed some cases of schemeless email
addresses in explicit targets, like this::
.. _mail me: me@example.org
Such targets were *not* getting a "mailto:" scheme prefix, resulting
in bad hyperlinks. That's been fixed now, in explicit targets and in
the new embedded URIs.
French & Slovak Language Support
================================
New language modules have been contributed to Docutils: Slovak from
Miroslav Vasko, and French from Stefane Fermigier. Already supported
are German, Swedish, and English.
New language modules are always welcome. They're easy to make;
they're just translations of a couple dozen terms. See the newly
expanded "Docutils Internationalization" for instructions:
http://docutils.sf.net/spec/howto/i18n.html
--
David Goodger <goodger@python.org> Open-source projects:
- Python Docutils: http://docutils.sourceforge.net/
(includes reStructuredText: http://docutils.sf.net/rst.html)
- The Go Tools Project: http://gotools.sourceforge.net/