The purpose of this description is to provide quick summary on documentation style used in `espressif/esp-idf`_ repository and how to add new documentation.
When documenting code for this repository, please follow `Doxygen style <http://doxygen.nl/manual/docblocks.html#specialblock>`_. You are doing it by inserting special commands, for instance ``@param``, into standard comments blocks, for example: ::
Doxygen supports couple of formatting styles. It also gives you great flexibility on level of details to include in documentation. To get familiar with available features, please check data rich and very well organized `Doxygen Manual <http://doxygen.nl/manual/index.html>`_.
The ultimate goal is to ensure that all the code is consistently documented, so we can use tools like `Sphinx`_ and `Breathe`_ to aid preparation and automatic updates of API documentation when the code changes.
1. Document all building blocks of code: functions, structs, typedefs, enums, macros, etc. Provide enough information about purpose, functionality and limitations of documented items, as you would like to see them documented when reading the code by others.
2. Documentation of function should describe what this function does. If it accepts input parameters and returns some value, all of them should be explained.
3. Do not add a data type before parameter or any other characters besides spaces. All spaces and line breaks are compressed into a single space. If you like to break a line, then break it twice.
7. Overview of functionality of documented header file, or group of files that make a library, should be placed in a separate ``README.rst`` file of the same directory. If this directory contains header files for different APIs, then the file name should be ``apiname-readme.rst``.
4. You may want to go even further and skip some code like repetitive defines or enumerations. In such case, enclose the code within ``/** @cond */`` and ``/** @endcond */`` commands. Example of such implementation is provided in :component_file:`driver/include/driver/gpio.h`.
6. Prepare one or more complete code examples together with description. Place description to a separate file ``README.md`` in specific folder of :idf:`examples` directory.
Standardize Document Format
-------------------------------
When it comes to text, please follow guidelines below to provide well formatted Markdown (.md) or reST (.rst) documents.
1. Please ensure that one paragraph is written in one line. Don't break lines like below. Breaking lines to enhance readability is only suitable for writing codes. To make the text easier to read, it is recommended to place an empty line to separate the paragraph.
:alt:One line for one paragraph - not recommend (click to enlarge)
No line breaks within the same paragraph (click to enlarge)
2. Please make the line number of CN and EN documents consistent like below. The benefit of this approach is that it can save time for both writers and translators. When non-bilingual writers need to update text, they only need to update the same line in the corresponding CN or EN document. For translators, if documents are updated in English, then translators can quickly locate where to update in the corresponding CN document later. Besides, by comparing the total number of lines in EN and CN documents, you can quickly find out whether the CN version lags behind the EN version.
When linking to examples on GitHub, do not use absolute/hardcoded URLs. Instead, use docutils custom roles that will generate links for you. These auto-generated links point to the tree or blob for the git commit ID (or tag) of the repository. This is needed to ensure that links do not get broken when files in master branch are moved around or deleted. The roles will transparently handle files that are located in submodules and will link to the submodule's repository with the correct commit ID.
A check is added to the CI build script, which searches RST files for presence of hard-coded links (identified by tree/master, blob/master, or raw/master part of the URL). This check can be run manually: ``cd docs`` and then ``make gh-linkcheck``.
Switching between documentation in different languages may be done using ``:link_to_translation:`` custom role. The role placed on a page of documentation provides a link to the same page in a language specified as a parameter. Examples below show how to enter links to Chinese and English versions of documentation::
:link_to_translation:`zh_CN:中文版`
:link_to_translation:`en:English`
The language is specified using standard abbreviations like ``en`` or ``zh_CN``. The text after last semicolon is not standardized and may be entered depending on the context where the link is placed, e.g.::
:link_to_translation:`en:see description in English`
Consider adding diagrams and pictures to illustrate described concepts.
Sometimes it is better to add an illustration than writing a lengthy paragraph to describe a complex idea, a data structure or an algorithm. This repository is using `blockdiag <http://blockdiag.com/en/index.html>`_ suite of tools to generate diagram images from simple text files.
With this suite of tools, it is possible to generate beautiful diagram images from simple text format (similar to graphviz’s DOT format). The diagram elements are laid out automatically. The diagram code is then converted into ".png" graphics and integrated "behind the scenes" into **Sphinx** documents.
* Slightly more complicated **block diagram** - `Wi-Fi programming model <http://interactive.blockdiag.com/?compression=deflate&src=eJyFk09P40AMxe98CqscIVILq72UIFX8kSoQWy0RHABFTuImFtOZaGYKuyC-O840bagaRI7Pfs7Pz0mmTP5cMJbwynNOa2tKi4sF6zJdmIIUvO_tgTz7UCqToQL03nK29OSCrqUpfeXCVxDD6Gg47tSKuKy8yL9b1dWov1E3E4atWtAcl8qnrsKapGDNUhdUZObfdr2UQp3mRhkrXdpoGq-BGwhQmJFaoSZns_Q2mZxdwUNQ44Eojxqcx_x5cAhzo73jN4pHv55WL7m4u0nSZHLbOeiFtBePR9dvmcxm19sWrGvFOXo2utd4CGH5eHQ8bGfcTy-n6fnfO9jMuOfoksV9bvmFbO-Lr27-JPAQ4oqbGJ62c8iN1pQ3EA4O-lOJTncXDvvupCGdu3vmqFQmSQqm3CIYBx0EWou6pADjQJbw3Bj-h3I4onxpsHrCQLnmoD0yVKgLJXuP1x3GsowPmUpfbay3yH5T7khPoi7NnpU-1nisPdkFyY_gV4x9XB3Y0pHdpfoJ60toURQOtqbYuvpJ1B6zDXYym0qmTVpNnh-fpWcbRA>`_
***Sequence diagram** / ``seqdiag`` - `Scan for a Specific AP in All Channels <http://interactive.blockdiag.com/seqdiag/?compression=deflate&src=eJyVkU1PwzAMhu_7FdburUgQXMomTaPcKIdOIIRQlDVuG1EloUknPsR_J2s2rRsT2nKJ9drvY8ex-C4kr8AWXLFSt8waLBg38D0Cf3jh5Io7qRVMQGmFSS-jqJA1qCpXe51cXwTZGg-pUVa1W8tXQRVY8q5xzNbcoNdb3SmBYqk_9vOlVs7Kr3UJoQmMwgDGMMftWwK4QuU28ZOM7uQm3q_zYTQd5OGl4UtsJmMSE5jCXKtSVl2LUPgpXPvpb4Hj1-RUCPWQ3O_K-wKpX84WMLAcB9B-igCouVLYADnDTA_N9GRzHMdnNMoOG2Vb8-4b4CY6Zr4MT3zOF-k9Sx_TbMHy-Sxjtw9Z-mfRHjEA7hD0X8TPLxU91AQ>`_
- Place some suggestions on what should be added or modified in future.
- Leave a reminder for yourself or somebody else to follow up.
In this case, add a todo note to your reST file using the directive ``.. todo::``. For example:
..code-block:: none
..todo::
Add a package diagram.
If you add ``.. todolist::`` to a reST file, the directive will be replaced by a list of all todo notes from the whole documentation.
By default, the directives ``.. todo::`` and ``.. todolist::`` are ignored by documentation builders. If you want the notes and the list of notes to be visible in your locally built documentation, do the following:
1. Open your local ``conf_common.py`` file.
2. Find the parameter ``todo_include_todos``.
3. Change its value from ``False`` to ``True``.
Before pushing your changes to origin, please set the value of ``todo_include_todos`` back to ``False``.
For more details about the extension, see `sphinx.ext.todo <https://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/usage/extensions/todo.html#directive-todolist>`_ documentation.
Writing generic documentation for multiple chips
------------------------------------------------
The documentation for all of Espressif's chips is built from the same files. To faciliate the writing of documents that can be re-used for multiple different chips (called below "targets"), we provide you with the following functionality:
Occasionally there will be content that is only relevant for one of targets. When this is the case, you can exclude that content by using the ''.. only:: TAG'' directive, where you replace 'TAG' with one of the following names:
A weakness in this extension is that it does not correctly handle the case where you exclude a section, that is directly followed by a labeled new section. In these cases everything will render correctly, but the label will not correctly link to the section that follows. A temporary work-around for the cases where this can't be avoided is the following:
When building the documents, Sphinx will use the above mentioned directive and role to include or exclude content based on the target tag it was called with.
If excluding an entire document from the toctree based on targets, it's necessary to also update the ``exclude_patterns`` list in :idf_file:`docs/conf_common.py` to exclude the file for other targets, or a Sphinx warning "WARNING: document isn't included in any toctree" will be generated..
The recommended way of doing it is adding the document to one of the list that gets included in ``conditional_include_dict`` in :idf_file:`docs/conf_common.py`, e.g. a document which should only be shown for BT capable targets should be added to ``BT_DOCS``. :idf_file:`docs/idf_extensions/exclude_docs.py` will then take care of adding it to ``exclude_patterns`` if the corresponding tag is not set.
If you need to exclude content inside a list or bullet points, then this should be done by using the '':TAG:'' role inside the ''.. list:: '' directive.
When you need to refer to the chip's name, toolchain name, path or other common names that depend on the target type you can consider using the substitution macros supplied by :idf_file:`docs/idf_extensions/format_idf_target.py`.
This is a {\IDF_TARGET_NAME}, with /{\IDF_TARGET_PATH_NAME}/soc.c, compiled with `{\IDF_TARGET_TOOLCHAIN_PREFIX}-gcc` with `CONFIG_{\IDF_TARGET_CFG_PREFIX}_MULTI_DOC`
This is a {IDF_TARGET_NAME}, with /{IDF_TARGET_PATH_NAME}/soc.c, compiled with `{IDF_TARGET_TOOLCHAIN_PREFIX}-gcc` with `CONFIG_{IDF_TARGET_CFG_PREFIX}_MULTI_DOC`.
This extension also supports markup for defining local (within a single source file) substitutions. Place a definition like the following into a single line of the RST file:
Will define a substitution for the tag {\IDF_TARGET_TX_PIN}, which would be replaced by the text IO5 if sphinx was called with the tag esp32s2.
..note::
These single-file definitions can be placed anywhere in the .rst file (on their own line), but the name of the directive must start with ``IDF_TARGET_``.
Once documentation is ready, follow instruction in :doc:`../api-reference/template` and create a single file, that will merge all individual pieces of prepared documentation. Finally add a link to this file to respective ``.. toctree::`` in ``index.rst`` file located in ``/docs`` folder or subfolders.
1. No worries. All the software you need is well documented. It is also open source and free. Start by checking `Sphinx`_ documentation. If you are not clear how to write using rst markup language, see `reStructuredText Primer <https://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/stable/rest.html>`_. You can also use markdown (.md) files, and find out more about the specific markdown syntax that we use on `Recommonmark parser's documentation page <https://recommonmark.readthedocs.io/en/latest/>`_.
2. Check the source files of this documentation to understand what is behind of what you see now on the screen. Sources are maintained on GitHub in `espressif/esp-idf`_ repository in :idf:`docs` folder. You can go directly to the source file of this page by scrolling up and clicking the link in the top right corner. When on GitHub, see what's really inside, open source files by clicking ``Raw`` button.
* Install `Sphinx`_, `Breathe`_, `Blockdiag <http://blockdiag.com/en/index.html>`_ and `Doxygen <http://doxygen.nl/>`_ to build it locally, see chapter below.
* Set up an account on `Read the Docs <https://readthedocs.org/>`_ and build documentation in the cloud. Read the Docs provides document building and hosting for free and their service works really quick and great.
4. To preview documentation before building, use `Sublime Text <https://www.sublimetext.com/>`_ editor together with `OmniMarkupPreviewer <https://github.com/timonwong/OmniMarkupPreviewer>`_ plugin.
The package "sphinx_idf_theme" is added to have the same "look and feel" of `ESP-IDF Programming Guide <https://docs.espressif.com/projects/esp-idf/en/latest/index.html>`_.
Do not worry about being confronted with several packages to install. Besides Doxygen, all remaining packages are written in pure Python. Therefore installation of all of them is combined into one simple step.
If you are installing on Windows MSYS2 system (Linux and MacOS users should skip this note, Windows users who don't use MSYS2 will need to find other alternatives), **before** going further, execute two extra steps below. These steps are required to install dependencies of "blockdiag" discussed under :ref:`add-illustrations`.
A downside of Windows installation is that fonts of the `blockdiag pictures <add-illustrations>` do not render correctly, you will see some random characters instead. Until this issue is fixed, you can use the `interactive shell`_ to see how the complete picture looks like.
This will build docs for all supported ESP-IDF languages & targets. This can take some time, although jobs will run in parallel up to the number of CPU cores you have (can modify this with the ``--sphinx-parallel-builds`` option, see ``./build_docs.py --help`` for details).
To build for a single language and target combination only::
./build_docs.py -l en -t esp32 build
Choices for language (``-l``) are ``en`` and ``zh_CN``. Choices for target (``-t``) are any supported ESP-IDF build system target (for example ``esp32`` and ``esp32s2``).
Build documentation will be placed in ``_build/<language>/<target>/html`` folder. To see it, open the ``index.html`` inside this directory in a web browser.
Since building the full documentation can be quite slow, it might be useful to just build just the subset of the documentation you are interested in.
This can be achieved by listing the document you want to build::
./build_docs.py -l en -t esp32 -i api-reference/peripherals/can.rst build
Building multiple documents is also possible::
./build_docs.py -l en -t esp32 -i api-reference/peripherals/can.rst api-reference/peripherals/adc.rst build
As well as wildcards::
./build_docs.py -l en -t esp32 -i api-reference/peripherals/* build
Note that this is a feature intended to simply testing and debugging during writing of documentation. The HTML output won't be perfect, i.e. it will not build a proper index that lists all the documents, and any references to documents that are not built will result in warnings.
Another trick to speed up building is to skip including doxygen generated API documention into the Sphinx build process, skipping this drastically reduces build time.
This can be achieved by adding the fast-build argument::
./build_docs.py build -f
or by setting the environment variable `DOCS_FAST_BUILD`. Note that the the `-f` argument is a subargument to `build` and thus must be listed after `build`.
It is also possible to build latex files and a PDF of the documentation using ``build_docs.py``. To do this the following Latex packages are required to be installed:
* latexmk
* texlive-latex-recommended
* texlive-fonts-recommended
* texlive-xetex
The following fonts are also required to be installed:
* Freefont Serif, Sans and Mono OpenType fonts, available as the package ``fonts-freefont-otf`` on Ubuntu
* Lmodern, available as the package ``fonts-lmodern`` on Ubuntu
* Fandol, can be downloaded from `here <https://ctan.org/tex-archive/fonts/fandol>`_
Now you can build the PDF for a target by invoking::
./build_docs.py -bs latex -l en -t esp32 build
Or alternatively build both html and PDF::
./build_docs.py -bs html latex -l en -t esp32 build
Latex files and the PDF will be placed in ``_build/<language>/<target>/latex`` folder.
