[Python-Dev] PEP 287: reStructuredText Standard Docstring Format

[David Goodger]

Guido van Rossum wrote:
> [I'm hoping David Goodger is reading this on python-dev.

Yes, I do.  I read it off the web.  I know I can now subscribe without going
through the initiation ceremony and learning the secret handshake, but old
habits die hard.

> > What about existing docstrings?  There is plenty of informal markup in
> > there already.

> Yeah, but they're not using any particular formal markup.  You'd still
> have to do a massive, *massive* cleanup if you wanted reST to apply.
> And it's not clear what the advantage would be
...
> The situation would be different if the goal was to replace
> the reference docs, but since it isn't, I think the informal markup is
> just fine.

Fair enough.  This is a long-term project.  Plenty of time to change your
mind later, when the advantages become clear.  :-)

-- 
David Goodger    goodger@users.sourceforge.net    Open-source projects:
 - Python Docstring Processing System: http://docstring.sourceforge.net
 - reStructuredText: http://structuredtext.sourceforge.net
 - The Go Tools Project: http://gotools.sourceforge.net