222 lines
8.3 KiB
Plaintext
222 lines
8.3 KiB
Plaintext
THIS IS A *TEST* RELEASE. It includes a significantly revised
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directory organization for the documentation, and much of the
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formatting process has been adjusted. The documentation itself is not
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necessarily consistent with any released version of Python.
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The only purpose for this release is to test the usability of the new
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directory structure. Please attempt to *format* the documentation to
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determine if the new processes are suitable for your purposes; the
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basic targets have been extensively tested, but variations may require
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some work. Please let us know if there are any problems with the new
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organization or processes; send email to:
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python-docs@python.org
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Python main documentation -- in LaTeX
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-------------------------------------
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This directory contains the LaTeX sources to the Python documentation.
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They now require LaTeX2e (LaTeX 2.09 compatibility is dropped).
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If you don't have LaTeX, or if you'd rather not format the
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documentation yourself, you can ftp a tar file containing HTML, PDF,
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or PostScript versions of all documents. Additional formats may be
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available. These should be in the same place where you fetched the
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main Python distribution (try <http://www.python.org> or
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<ftp://ftp.python.org>).
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The following are the LaTeX source files:
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api/*.tex Python/C API Reference Manual
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ext/*.tex Extending and Embedding the Python Interpreter
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lib/*.tex Python Library Reference
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ref/*.tex Python Reference Manual
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tut/*.tex Python Tutorial
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All use the "manual" document class and "python" package, derived from
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the old "myformat.sty" style file. These contains many macro
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definitions useful in documenting Python, and set some style parameters.
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There's a Makefile to call LaTeX and the other utilities in the right
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order and the right number of times. This will produce DVI files for
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each document made; to preview them, use xdvi. PostScript is produced
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by the same Makefile target that produces the DVI files. This uses
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the dvips tool. Printing depends on local conventions; at our site,
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we use lpr. For example:
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make lib # create lib.dvi and lib.ps
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xdvi lib # preview lib.dvi
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lpr lib.ps # print on default printer
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What if I find a bug?
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---------------------
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First, check that the bug is present in the online version of the
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documentation at <http://www.python.org/docs/>; we may have already
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fixed it.
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If we haven't, tell us about it. We'd like the documentation to be
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complete and accurate, but have limited time. If you discover any
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inconsistencies between the documentation and implementation, or just
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have suggestions as to how to improve the documentation, let is know!
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Send comments and patches to the Python Documentation Team:
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python-docs@python.org
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Thanks!
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What happened to the Macintosh chapter of the Python Library Reference?
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-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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The directory mac/ contains the LaTeX sources for the "Macintosh
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Library Modules" manual; this is not currently included in the build
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system. To build, do the following:
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cd Doc/mac
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../tools/mkhowto.sh --ps --pdf --html mac
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(Any combination of --ps, --pdf, and --html may be used depending on
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your needs; the default is --pdf.)
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What tools do I need?
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---------------------
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You need to install Python; some of the scripts used to produce the
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documentation are written in Python.
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The simplest way to get the rest of the tools in the configuration we
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used is to install the teTeX TeX distribution, version 0.4 or 0.9. More
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information is available on teTeX at <http://www.tug.org/tetex/>.
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This is a UNIX-only TeX distribution at this time. Note that the 0.9
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release is still in testing; this documentation release was tested
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with the 21 Apr 1998 release. We'll be upgrading to the final version
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when it becomes available. Except for the PDF generation, it also works
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with the (stable) teTeX 0.4 release.
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If you don't want to get teTeX, here is what you'll need:
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To create DVI, PDF, or PostScript files:
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- LaTeX2e, 1995/12/01 or newer. Older versions are likely to
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choke.
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- makeindex. This is used to produce the indexes for the
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library reference and Python/C API reference.
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To create PDF files:
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- pdflatex. We used the one in the teTeX 0.9 distribution
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(version 0.12h at the time of this writing). Versions even
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a couple of patchlevels earlier are highly likely to fail
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due to syntax changes for some of the pdftex primitives.
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To create PostScript files:
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- dvips. Most TeX installations include this. If you don't
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have one, check CTAN (<ftp://ctan.tug.org/tex-archive/>).
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To create info files:
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(Note that info is not currently supported. If you need it,
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please fix or replace tools/partparse.py and send the new
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version to python-docs@python.org. We'll be glad to provide
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free copies of the info files to anyone who can support the
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process. ;-)
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- makeinfo. This is available from any GNU mirror.
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- emacs or xemacs. Emacs is available from the same place as
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makeinfo, and xemacs is available from ftp.xemacs.org.
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To create HTML files:
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- Perl 5.004_04 or newer. Find the software at
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<http://language.perl.com/info/software.html>.
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- LaTeX2HTML 98.1p5 or newer. Older version will fail with
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the new directory layout. Releases are available at
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<http://dc-server.cdc.informatik.tu-darmstadt.de/~latex2html/>.
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What if Times fonts are not available?
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--------------------------------------
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As distributed, the LaTeX documents use PostScript Times fonts. This
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is done since they are much better looking and produce smaller
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PostScript files. If, however, your TeX installation does not support
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them, they may be easily disabled. Edit the file
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texiinputs/manual.cls and comment out the line that starts
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"\RequirePackage{times}" using a "%" character at the beginning of the
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line. An alternative is to install the right fonts and LaTeX style
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file.
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What if I want to use A4 paper?
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-------------------------------
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Instead of building the PostScript by giving the command "make", give
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the command "make PAPER=a4"; the output will be produced in the
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paper-a4/ subdirectory.
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Making HTML files
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-----------------
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The LaTeX documents can be converted to HTML using Nikos Drakos'
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LaTeX2HTML converter. See the Makefile; after some twiddling, "make
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l2h" should do the trick.
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What else is in here?
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---------------------
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There is a new LaTeX document class called "howto". This is used for
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the new series of Python HOWTO documents which is being coordinated by
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Andrew Kuchling <amk@acm.org>. The file howto.tex is a commented
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example which may be used a template. A script to "do the right
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thing" to format a howto document is included as tools/mkhowto.sh.
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Support for this document class is still new, but is expected to
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evolve rapidly. Use "mkhowto.sh --help" for information on using the
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formatting tool.
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Copyright notice
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================
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The Python source is copyrighted, but you can freely use and copy it
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as long as you don't change or remove the copyright notice:
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
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Copyright 1991-1995 by Stichting Mathematisch Centrum, Amsterdam,
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The Netherlands.
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All Rights Reserved
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Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its
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documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted,
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provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that
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both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in
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supporting documentation, and that the names of Stichting Mathematisch
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Centrum or CWI or Corporation for National Research Initiatives or
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CNRI not be used in advertising or publicity pertaining to
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distribution of the software without specific, written prior
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permission.
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While CWI is the initial source for this software, a modified version
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is made available by the Corporation for National Research Initiatives
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(CNRI) at the Internet address ftp://ftp.python.org.
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STICHTING MATHEMATISCH CENTRUM AND CNRI DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES WITH
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REGARD TO THIS SOFTWARE, INCLUDING ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
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MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS, IN NO EVENT SHALL STICHTING MATHEMATISCH
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CENTRUM OR CNRI BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL
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DAMAGES OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR
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PROFITS, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER
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TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR
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PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
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