


doctoc_lang_intro(n)   Documentation tools   doctoc_lang_intro(n)


______________________________________________________________________________

NAME
       doctoc_lang_intro - doctoc language introduction

DESCRIPTION
       This  document is an informal introduction to version 1.1 of the doctoc
       markup language based on a multitude of examples. After reading this  a
       writer should be ready to understand the two parts of the formal speci-
       fication, i.e. the doctoc language syntax specification and the  doctoc
       language command reference.

   FUNDAMENTALS
       While  the  doctoc  markup  language  is  quite similar to the doctools
       markup language, in the broadest terms possible, there is one key  dif-
       ference.  A  table of contents consists essentially only of markup com-
       mands, with no plain text interspersed between them, except for whites-
       pace.

       Each markup command is a Tcl command surrounded by a matching pair of [
       and ]. Inside of these delimiters the usual rules  for  a  Tcl  command
       apply  with  regard  to  word  quotation, nested commands, continuation
       lines, etc. I.e.


           ... [division_start {Appendix 1}] ...


         ... [item thefile \\
                 label {file description}] ...


   BASIC STRUCTURE
       The most simple document which can be written in doctoc is

           [toc_begin GROUPTITLE TITLE]
           [toc_end]

       This also shows us that all doctoc documents consist of only  one  part
       where we will list items and divisions.

       The  user  is  free to mix these as she sees fit. This is a change from
       version 1 of the language, which did not allow this  mixing,  but  only
       the use of either a series of items or a series of divisions.

       We will discuss the commands for each of these two possibilities in the
       next sections.

   ITEMS
       Use the command item to put an item into a table of contents.  This  is
       essentially a reference to a section, subsection, etc. in the document,
       or set of documents, the table of contents is for.  The  command  takes
       three  arguments,  a symbolic name for the file the item is for and two
       text to label the item and describe the referenced section.



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doctoc_lang_intro(n)   Documentation tools   doctoc_lang_intro(n)


       Symbolic names are used to preserve the convertibility of  this  format
       to  any  output format. The actual name of any file will be inserted by
       the chosen formatting engine when converting the input, based on a map-
       ping from symbolic to actual names given to the engine.

       Here a made up example for a table of contents of this document:

       [toc_begin Doctoc {Language Introduction}]
       [item 1 DESCRIPTION]
       [item 1.1 {Basic structure}]
       [item 1.2 Items]
       [item 1.3 Divisions]
       [item 2 {FURTHER READING}]
       [toc_end]


   DIVISIONS
       One thing of notice in the last example in the previous section is that
       the referenced sections actually  had  a  nested  structure,  something
       which  was  expressed  in the item labels, by using a common prefix for
       all the sections nested under section 1.

       This kind of structure can be made more explicit in the doctoc language
       by  using  divisions. Instead of using a series of plain items we use a
       series of divisions for the major references, and then place the nested
       items inside of these.

       Of  course,  instead of the nested items we can again use divisions and
       thus nest arbitrarily deep.

       A division is marked by two commands instead of one, one to  start  it,
       the other to close the last opened division. They are:

       division_start
              This  command  opens  a  new division. It takes one or two argu-
              ments, the title of the division, and the symbolic name  of  the
              file  it  refers  to.  The  latter is optional.  If the symbolic
              filename is present then the section title should  link  to  the
              referenced  document,  if links are supported by the output for-
              mat.

       division_end
              This command closes the last opened and not yet closed division.


       Using this we can recast the last example like this

       [toc_begin Doctoc {Language Introduction}]
       [division_start DESCRIPTION]
       [item 1 {Basic structure}]
       [item 2 Items]
       [item 3 Divisions]
       [division_end]
       [division_start {FURTHER READING}]



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doctoc_lang_intro(n)   Documentation tools   doctoc_lang_intro(n)


       [division_end]
       [toc_end]


       Or, to demonstrate deeper nesting

       [toc_begin Doctoc {Language Introduction}]
       [division_start DESCRIPTION]
       [division_start {Basic structure}]
       [item 1 Do]
       [item 2 Re]
       [division_end]
       [division_start Items]
       [item a Fi]
       [item b Fo]
       [item c Fa]
       [division_end]
       [division_start Divisions]
       [item 1 Sub]
       [item 1 Zero]
       [division_end]
       [division_end]
       [division_start {FURTHER READING}]
       [division_end]
       [toc_end]

       And  do  not  forget, it is possible to freely mix items and divisions,
       and to have empty divisions.

       [toc_begin Doctoc {Language Introduction}]
       [item 1 Do]
       [division_start DESCRIPTION]
       [division_start {Basic structure}]
       [item 2 Re]
       [division_end]
       [item a Fi]
       [division_start Items]
       [item b Fo]
       [item c Fa]
       [division_end]
       [division_start Divisions]
       [division_end]
       [division_end]
       [division_start {FURTHER READING}]
       [division_end]
       [toc_end]


   ADVANCED STRUCTURE
       In all previous examples we fudged a bit regarding the markup  actually
       allowed to be used before the toc_begin command opening the document.

       Instead of only whitespace the two templating commands include and vset
       are also allowed, to enable the writer  to  either  set  and/or  import



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doctoc_lang_intro(n)   Documentation tools   doctoc_lang_intro(n)


       configuration  settings  relevant  to the table of contents. I.e. it is
       possible to write

       [include FILE]
       [vset VAR VALUE]
       [toc_begin GROUPTITLE TITLE]
       [toc_end]

       Even more important, these two commands are allowed  anywhere  where  a
       markup command is allowed, without regard for any other structure.

       [toc_begin GROUPTITLE TITLE]
       [include FILE]
       [vset VAR VALUE]
       [toc_end]

       The  only  restriction  include has to obey is that the contents of the
       included file must be valid at the place of the inclusion. I.e. a  file
       included before toc_begin may contain only the templating commands vset
       and include, a file included in a division may contain  only  items  or
       divisions commands, etc.

   ESCAPES
       Beyond the 6 commands shown so far we have two more available.  However
       their function is not the marking up of toc structure, but  the  inser-
       tion  of characters, namely [ and ].  These commands, lb and rb respec-
       tively, are required because our use of [ and ] to bracket markup  com-
       mands makes it impossible to directly use [ and ] within the text.

       Our  example  of  their use are the sources of the last sentence in the
       previous paragraph, with some highlighting added.

         ...
         These commands, [cmd lb] and [cmd lb] respectively, are required
         because our use of [lb] and [rb] to bracket markup commands makes it
         impossible to directly use [lb] and [rb] within the text.
         ...


FURTHER READING
       Now that this document has been digested the reader, assumed  to  be  a
       writer of documentation should be fortified enough to be able to under-
       stand the formal doctoc language syntax  specification  as  well.  From
       here  on  out  the doctoc language command reference will also serve as
       the detailed specification and cheat sheet for all  available  commands
       and their syntax.

       To  be  able to validate a document while writing it, it is also recom-
       mended to familiarize oneself with Tclapps' ultra-configurable dtp.

       On the other hand, doctoc is perfectly suited for the automatic genera-
       tion  from  doctools documents, and this is the route Tcllib's easy and
       simple dtplite goes, creating a table of contents for a  set  of  docu-
       ments  behind  the  scenes, without the writer having to do so on their



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doctoc_lang_intro(n)   Documentation tools   doctoc_lang_intro(n)


       own.

BUGS, IDEAS, FEEDBACK
       This document,  will  undoubtedly  contain  bugs  and  other  problems.
       Please  report  such in the category doctools of the Tcllib SF Trackers
       [http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=12883].  Please  also  report
       any ideas for enhancements you may have.

SEE ALSO
       doctoc_intro, doctoc_lang_cmdref, doctoc_lang_syntax

KEYWORDS
       doctoc commands, doctoc language, doctoc markup, doctoc syntax, markup,
       semantic markup

CATEGORY
       Documentation tools

COPYRIGHT
       Copyright (c) 2007 Andreas Kupries <andreas_kupries@users.sourceforge.net>





































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