[//000000001]: # (doctoc\_lang\_intro \- Documentation tools) [//000000002]: # (Generated from file 'doctoc\_lang\_intro\.man' by tcllib/doctools with format 'markdown') [//000000003]: # (Copyright © 2007 Andreas Kupries ) [//000000004]: # (doctoc\_lang\_intro\(n\) 1\.0 tcllib "Documentation tools")
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# NAME doctoc\_lang\_intro \- doctoc language introduction # Table Of Contents - [Table Of Contents](#toc) - [Description](#section1) - [Fundamentals](#subsection1) - [Basic structure](#subsection2) - [Items](#subsection3) - [Divisions](#subsection4) - [Advanced structure](#subsection5) - [Escapes](#subsection6) - [FURTHER READING](#section2) - [Bugs, Ideas, Feedback](#section3) - [See Also](#seealso) - [Keywords](#keywords) - [Category](#category) - [Copyright](#copyright) # 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 specification, i\.e\. the *[doctoc language syntax](doctoc\_lang\_syntax\.md)* specification and the *[doctoc language command reference](doctoc\_lang\_cmdref\.md)*\. ## Fundamentals While the *doctoc markup language* is quite similar to the *doctools markup language*, in the broadest terms possible, there is one key difference\. A table of contents 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\. ... [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\. 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 mapping 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 arguments, 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 format\. - __division\_end__ This command closes the last opened and not yet closed division\. Using this we can recast the last example like this > \[toc\_begin Doctoc \{Language Introduction\}\] > \[__division\_start DESCRIPTION__\] > \[item 1 \{Basic structure\}\] > \[item 2 Items\] > \[item 3 Divisions\] > \[__division\_end__\] > \[__division\_start \{FURTHER READING\}__\] > \[__division\_end__\] > \[toc\_end\] 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 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 insertion of characters, namely __\[__ and __\]__\. These commands, __lb__ and __rb__ respectively, are required because our use of \[ and \] to bracket markup commands 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 understand the formal *[doctoc language syntax](doctoc\_lang\_syntax\.md)* specification as well\. From here on out the *[doctoc language command reference](doctoc\_lang\_cmdref\.md)* 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 recommended to familiarize oneself with Tclapps' ultra\-configurable __dtp__\. On the other hand, doctoc is perfectly suited for the automatic generation from doctools documents, and this is the route Tcllib's easy and simple __[dtplite](\.\./\.\./apps/dtplite\.md)__ goes, creating a table of contents for a set of documents behind the scenes, without the writer having to do so on their own\. # Bugs, Ideas, Feedback This document, and the package it describes, will undoubtedly contain bugs and other problems\. Please report such in the category *doctools* of the [Tcllib Trackers](http://core\.tcl\.tk/tcllib/reportlist)\. Please also report any ideas for enhancements you may have for either package and/or documentation\. When proposing code changes, please provide *unified diffs*, i\.e the output of __diff \-u__\. Note further that *attachments* are strongly preferred over inlined patches\. Attachments can be made by going to the __Edit__ form of the ticket immediately after its creation, and then using the left\-most button in the secondary navigation bar\. # SEE ALSO [doctoc\_intro](doctoc\_intro\.md), [doctoc\_lang\_cmdref](doctoc\_lang\_cmdref\.md), [doctoc\_lang\_syntax](doctoc\_lang\_syntax\.md) # KEYWORDS [doctoc commands](\.\./\.\./\.\./\.\./index\.md\#doctoc\_commands), [doctoc language](\.\./\.\./\.\./\.\./index\.md\#doctoc\_language), [doctoc markup](\.\./\.\./\.\./\.\./index\.md\#doctoc\_markup), [doctoc syntax](\.\./\.\./\.\./\.\./index\.md\#doctoc\_syntax), [markup](\.\./\.\./\.\./\.\./index\.md\#markup), [semantic markup](\.\./\.\./\.\./\.\./index\.md\#semantic\_markup) # CATEGORY Documentation tools # COPYRIGHT Copyright © 2007 Andreas Kupries