[Idle-dev] Documentation on Unix/Linux

[Bruce Sherwood]

In the discussion concerning documentation accessible from IDLE, I'm 
curious about one aspect of the situation on Unix/Linux.

On Windows, the standard Python installer comes with a Doc directory, and 
Doc\index.html takes you to the standard Python documentation which is 
installed in the Doc directory.

In contrast, on Linux the standard Python installer does not include 
documentation, and IDLE has a menu option that goes to the python.org web 
site, not to locally stored documentation. (I believe that the standard Mac 
Python installer also doesn't include documentation.)

To me, it would make sense for documentation to be included in the Linux 
installer, to make a complete package, and the IDLE menu option would take 
you to it. (This is a separate question from whether F1 takes you there, or 
to info on IDLE itself, or to a list from which to choose.) IDLE 
could/should check for the availability of a local copy of the 
documentation and go there rather than to the web site. But it's not clear 
to me whether there's a "standard" place for such documentation. Would it 
be /usr/share/doc/python? You who are using Python on Linux, where do you 
put the documentation? Or do you always go to the web site?

Bruce Sherwood

P.S. I just submitted a patch to idlefork in which I propose a more 
generally valid way to reference the documentation on Windows.