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Documentation files to be linked under the docs/sphinx directory of http://github.com/openmicroscopy/openmicroscopy.

Getting Started With Sphinx

Sphinx depends on the sphinx-build Python script. As such, it can be installed on any system with a working Python installation and PIP. On Windows, make sure that the Scripts directory under the Python installation directory (e.g. C:\Python26\Scripts) is configured in your PATH. On OS X/Linux, sphinx-build has to be accessible from the command line.

The Sphinx documentation system can be obtained by issuing:

pip install Sphinx

The structure of the documentation folder follows the Sphinx system guidelines. A quick overview:

  • source *.txt files with reST markup live in the root of the folder and under subfolders,
  • compiled output is placed in _build,
  • compiled visual themes are automatically placed in _static,
  • Sphinx configuration is held in conf.py,
  • goals for make and make.bat are held in Makefile.

A reference of reStructuredText (reST) is available at http://thomas-cokelaer.info. It is recommended to familiarise oneself with the syntax outlined there.

A tutorial covering Sphinx, which enhances working with reST documents, can be found at http://sphinx.pocoo.org.

Building the documentation

Basic build commands

To clean the build directory of any previous builds, use:

make clean

To build the documentation locally in the form of HTML pages, use:

make html

To check the links (internal and external) of the documentation, use:

make linkcheck

To list all targets of the sphinx builder, use:

make

The output should look something like:

Please use `make <target>' where <target> is one of
  html       to make standalone HTML files
  dirhtml    to make HTML files named index.html in directories
  singlehtml to make a single large HTML file
  pickle     to make pickle files
  json       to make JSON files
  htmlhelp   to make HTML files and a HTML help project
  qthelp     to make HTML files and a qthelp project
  devhelp    to make HTML files and a Devhelp project
  epub       to make an epub
  latex      to make LaTeX files, you can set PAPER=a4 or PAPER=letter
  latexpdf   to make LaTeX files and run them through pdflatex
  text       to make text files
  man        to make manual pages
  texinfo    to make Texinfo files
  info       to make Texinfo files and run them through makeinfo
  gettext    to make PO message catalogs
  changes    to make an overview of all changed/added/deprecated items
  linkcheck  to check all external links for integrity
  doctest    to run all doctests embedded in the documentation (if
             enabled)

OMERO release number

The release number of OMERO is set to UNKNOWN by default. There are two ways to set this release number.

  • Either clone http://github.com/openmicroscopy/openmicroscopy, initiate the submodules (including this repository) and run at the top-level:

    ./build.py release-docs

    This target will read the latest tag using git-describe and build the Sphinx documentation using the current OMERO release number.

  • Or set the environment variable OMERO_RELEASE, e.g.:

    OMERO_RELEASE=4.4.4 make clean html

Conventions Used

Part of the conventions used here is based on work by Benoît Bryon.

File names

reST source file names should carry the txt suffix and use lowercase alphanumeric characters and the - (minus) symbol.

Indentation

Most reST directives don't need indentation, unless contents or options have to be supplied. For consistency, please use 4 space indentation whenever needed. Do not use indentation for the start of directives (start them at the edge of the new line). Any content under a reST directive has to be indented the same way as the options.

Example:

.. toctree::
    :maxdepth: 2

    Some content here...

Line wrapping

reST source files should use 78 lines for wrapping text. Please consult the manual of your favourite text editor to see how to switch on text wrapping.

Blank lines

Two new lines should be put before top-lined, top-level section names, i.e. before H1 and H2. One new line in any other case.

Example:

###############
Part title (H1)
###############

Introduction text.
(blank)
(blank)
******************
Chapter title (H2)
******************

Title headings

Every reST source file should begin with an H2 (level two) title. H1 titles are reserved for the index files (index.txt).

The following symbols should be used to create headings:

  • # with top line for parts
  • * with top line for chapters
  • = for sections
  • - for subsections
  • ^ for subsubsections
  • " for paragraphs

Example:

###############
Part Title (H1)
###############

H1 only in indexes.


******************
Chapter Title (H2)
******************

Sample file content.


********************
Another chapter (H2)
********************

Section title (H3)
==================

Subsection title (H4)
---------------------

Subsubsection title (H5)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Paragraph title (H6)
""""""""""""""""""""

And some text.

Page labels and references

Every page can be uniquely referenced using the sphinx doc directive. Like other directives, you can use the absolute file path, i.e. relative to the top-level directory: :doc: `/path/name-of-the-page` or :doc: `link to my page </path/name-of-the-page>`.

Only when a good reason exists, a document can also start with a label:

.. _page-label:


Title Of The Page
=================

Use of labels to refer to whole files is discouraged. References to labels above tables and images are encouraged. The :ref: Sphinx role is advised over standard reST links, as it works across files and reference names are automatically generated (e.g. from caption of an image).

Images vs. figures

reST allows for two types of image embedding: using the image and figure directive. It is recommended to use the latter, as legends and captions can be added easier.

All images referenced in a reST document shall be placed in an images folder in the top-level directory of the documentation.

Please do not use relative (../../../images/foo.jpg) paths to refer to images. Sphinx does a good job at creating paths, so one can use /images/foo.jpg

Tables

Please do not use tables for collections of links and figures, and leave them solely for use as actual tables. While it can be used in HTML to shoehorn content into boxes, it doesn't work too well for other output, e.g. latex.

Big tables (typically wider than 50 characters) should be managed as external files using the comma-separated values (CSV) format. These tables can then be included in the documentation with the csv-table directive. If tables are saved using the tab-separated values (TSV) format use the delim option to set the table delimiter to tab e.g.:

.. csv-table::
    :widths: 20 80
    :header-rows: 1
    :file: searchfieldnames.tsv
    :delim: tab

To control the column width in the LaTeX output, precede the table directive with tabularcolumns, e.g.:

.. tabularcolumns:: |p{3.5cm}|p{12cm}|

Substitutions, aliases and hyperlinks

reST allows for using substitutions in cases where a piece of markup is used more than once, e.g.:

Please visit Python.org_

...

.. _Python.org: http://python.org

If a hyperlink appears only once, please use anonymous, "one-off" hyperlinks (two underscores):

`RFC 2396 <http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2396.txt>`__ and `RFC
2732 <http://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc2732.txt>`__ together
define the syntax of URIs.

Finally, please avoid using here as the hyperlink name, as in:

(...) go `here <http://www.google.com>`_.

Common markups

  • Notes should be formatted using the note directive: .. note::
  • Definition lists can be created and cross-referenced using the glossary directive: .. glossary::
  • References to external documentation can be formatted using: .. seealso::
  • Menu selections should be marked using the appropriate role: :menuselection: `Start --> Programs`

Global substitutions

Some substitutions have been implemented using rst_epilog in conf.py. They can be used in all pages of the documentation.

Hyperlinks

The table below lists targets for common hyperlinks.

Target name Link
Python http://python.org
Matplotlib http://matplotlib.org/
Python Imaging Library http://www.pythonware.com/products/pil/
Hibernate http://www.hibernate.org
ZeroC http://www.zeroc.com
Ice http://www.zeroc.com
Jenkins http://jenkins-ci.org
roadmap https://trac.openmicroscopy.org.uk/ome/roadmap
Open Microscopy Environment http://www.openmicroscopy.org/site
Glencoe Software, Inc. http://www.glencoesoftware.com/

Abbreviations

The table below lists substitutions for common abbreviations. These substitutions use the :abbr: Sphinx role meaning they are shown as tool-tip in HTML and output only once in LaTeX.

Name Abbreviation Explanation
|SSH| SSH Secure Shell
|VM| VM Virtual Machine
|OS| OS Operating System
|SSL| SSL Secure Socket Layer
|HDD| HDD Hard Disk Drive

Page references

The table below lists substitutions that can be used to create references to sections of the OMERO documentation.

Name Path
|OmeroPy| developers/Python
|OmeroCpp| developers/Cpp
|OmeroJava| developers/Java
|OmeroMatlab| developers/Matlab
|OmeroCli| sysadmins/CommandLine
|OmeroApi| developers/Modules/Api
|OmeroWeb| developers/Web
|OmeroClients| developers/GettingStarted
|OmeroGrid| sysadmins/grid
|OmeroSessions| developers/Server/Sessions
|OmeroModel| developers/Model
|ExtendingOmero| developers/ExtendingOmero
|BlitzGateway| developers/Python

For the most up-to-date list, please consult conf.py (section rst_epilog).

Common URLs

Some URLs are widely used across the OME documentation. Using the Sphinx extlinks extension, a dictionary of aliases to base URLs has been defined for the following:

  • Trac tickets: :ticket: `3442`, displayed as <a>#3442</a>
  • Snapshots: :snapshot: `omero/myzip.zip`
  • Plone pages: :omero_plone: `Downloads <downloads>`
  • DOIs: :doi: `Dantas, et al., JCB <10.1083/jcb.201012093>`
  • Github source code, e.g. :source: `etc/omero.properties`
  • OME Forums: :forum: `viewforum.php?f=3`
  • Mailing lists: :mailinglist:`ome-users/`

For the most up-to-date list, please consult conf.py (section extlinks).

Inclusion of content

When a specific type of content (e.g. code snippet) repeats itself among many pages, it is advised to store it in a seperate file without the default .txt extension. This file can then be later included using the literalinclude directive.

Writing Conventions

  • Do not use contractions (can't, isn't, I'll, etc.) or '&' in the documentation.
  • All H1 and H2 level headings should have a capital letter at the start of each word.
  • All sub-headings (H3 +) should begin with a capital letter for the first word and continue in lowercase, except where they refer to terms which are abbreviated in the text e.g. Virtual Machine.
  • Use the full product name, e.g. OMERO.insight instead of Insight.
  • Avoid using resp. in brackets to refer to alternative file names etc. Just use 'or'.
  • Use full words rather than symbols in headings if possible.
  • When giving instructions, address the user as 'you' and try to maintain a professional attitude - i.e. no random asides about making coffee or smilies!