


docidx_lang_intro(n)   Documentation tools   docidx_lang_intro(n)


______________________________________________________________________________

NAME
       docidx_lang_intro - docidx language introduction

DESCRIPTION
       This  document  is  an informal introduction to version 1 of the docidx
       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 docidx language syntax specification and the  docidx
       language command reference.

   FUNDAMENTALS
       While  the  docidx  markup  language  is  quite similar to the doctools
       markup language, in the broadest terms possible, there is one key  dif-
       ference. An index consists essentially only of markup commands, with no
       plain text interspersed between them, except for whitespace.

       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.


           ... [key {markup language}] ...


         ... [manpage thefile \\
                 {file description}] ...


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

           [index_begin GROUPTITLE TITLE]
           [index_end]


       Not  very  useful,  but valid. This also shows us that all docidx docu-
       ments consist of only one part where we will list all  keys  and  their
       references.

       A  more  useful  index will contain at least keywords, or short 'keys',
       i.e. the phrases which were indexed. So:

       [index_begin GROUPTITLE TITLE]
       [key markup]
       [key {semantic markup}]]
       [key {docidx markup}]
       [key {docidx language}]
       [key {docidx commands}]
       [index_end]





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docidx_lang_intro(n)   Documentation tools   docidx_lang_intro(n)


       In the above example the command key is used  to  declare  the  keyword
       phrases we wish to be part of the index.

       However  a  truly  useful index does not only list the keyword phrases,
       but will also contain references to documents associated with the  key-
       words.  Here  is  a  made-up  index  for all the manpages in the module
       base64:

       [index_begin tcllib/base64 {De- & Encoding}]
       [key base64]
       [manpage base64]
       [key encoding]
       [manpage base64]
       [manpage uuencode]
       [manpage yencode]
       [key uuencode]
       [manpage uuencode]
       [key yEnc]
       [manpage yencode]
       [key ydecode]
       [manpage yencode]
       [key yencode]
       [manpage yencode]
       [index_end]


       In the above example the command manpage is used to  insert  references
       to documents, using symbolic file names, with each command belonging to
       the last key command coming before it.

       The other command to insert references is url. In contrast  to  manpage
       it  uses explicit (possibly format-specific) urls to describe the loca-
       tion of the referenced document. As such this command is  intended  for
       the  creation  of  references  to external documents which could not be
       handled in any other way.

   ADVANCED STRUCTURE
       In all previous examples we fudged a bit regarding the markup  actually
       allowed to be used before the index_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 con-
       figuration settings relevant to the table of contents. I.e. it is  pos-
       sible to write

       [include FILE]
       [vset VAR VALUE]
       [index_begin GROUPTITLE TITLE]
       [index_end]

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

       [index_begin GROUPTITLE TITLE]



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docidx_lang_intro(n)   Documentation tools   docidx_lang_intro(n)


       [include FILE]
       [vset VAR VALUE]
       [index_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 index_begin may contain only  the  templating  commands
       vset  and  include, a file included after a key may contain only manape
       or url references, and other keys, etc.

   ESCAPES
       Beyond the 6 commands shown so far we have two more available.  However
       their function is not the marking up of index 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  docidx  language syntax specification as well. From
       here on out the docidx 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, docidx is perfectly suited for the automatic genera-
       tion from doctools documents, and this is the route Tcllib's  easy  and
       simple  dtplite  goes,  creating an index for a set of documents behind
       the scenes, without the writer having to do so on their 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
       docidx_intro, docidx_lang_cmdref, docidx_lang_syntax

KEYWORDS
       docidx commands, docidx language, docidx markup, docidx syntax, markup,



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docidx_lang_intro(n)   Documentation tools   docidx_lang_intro(n)


       semantic markup

CATEGORY
       Documentation tools

COPYRIGHT
       Copyright (c) 2007-2009 Andreas Kupries <andreas_kupries@users.sourceforge.net>


















































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