summaryrefslogtreecommitdiffstats
path: root/Documentation/doc-guide/sphinx.rst
diff options
context:
space:
mode:
Diffstat (limited to 'Documentation/doc-guide/sphinx.rst')
-rw-r--r--Documentation/doc-guide/sphinx.rst530
1 files changed, 530 insertions, 0 deletions
diff --git a/Documentation/doc-guide/sphinx.rst b/Documentation/doc-guide/sphinx.rst
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..cd8ad79044
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/doc-guide/sphinx.rst
@@ -0,0 +1,530 @@
+.. _sphinxdoc:
+
+=====================================
+Using Sphinx for kernel documentation
+=====================================
+
+The Linux kernel uses `Sphinx`_ to generate pretty documentation from
+`reStructuredText`_ files under ``Documentation``. To build the documentation in
+HTML or PDF formats, use ``make htmldocs`` or ``make pdfdocs``. The generated
+documentation is placed in ``Documentation/output``.
+
+.. _Sphinx: http://www.sphinx-doc.org/
+.. _reStructuredText: http://docutils.sourceforge.net/rst.html
+
+The reStructuredText files may contain directives to include structured
+documentation comments, or kernel-doc comments, from source files. Usually these
+are used to describe the functions and types and design of the code. The
+kernel-doc comments have some special structure and formatting, but beyond that
+they are also treated as reStructuredText.
+
+Finally, there are thousands of plain text documentation files scattered around
+``Documentation``. Some of these will likely be converted to reStructuredText
+over time, but the bulk of them will remain in plain text.
+
+.. _sphinx_install:
+
+Sphinx Install
+==============
+
+The ReST markups currently used by the Documentation/ files are meant to be
+built with ``Sphinx`` version 1.7 or higher.
+
+There's a script that checks for the Sphinx requirements. Please see
+:ref:`sphinx-pre-install` for further details.
+
+Most distributions are shipped with Sphinx, but its toolchain is fragile,
+and it is not uncommon that upgrading it or some other Python packages
+on your machine would cause the documentation build to break.
+
+A way to avoid that is to use a different version than the one shipped
+with your distributions. In order to do so, it is recommended to install
+Sphinx inside a virtual environment, using ``virtualenv-3``
+or ``virtualenv``, depending on how your distribution packaged Python 3.
+
+.. note::
+
+ #) It is recommended to use the RTD theme for html output. Depending
+ on the Sphinx version, it should be installed separately,
+ with ``pip install sphinx_rtd_theme``.
+
+In summary, if you want to install Sphinx version 2.4.4, you should do::
+
+ $ virtualenv sphinx_2.4.4
+ $ . sphinx_2.4.4/bin/activate
+ (sphinx_2.4.4) $ pip install -r Documentation/sphinx/requirements.txt
+
+After running ``. sphinx_2.4.4/bin/activate``, the prompt will change,
+in order to indicate that you're using the new environment. If you
+open a new shell, you need to rerun this command to enter again at
+the virtual environment before building the documentation.
+
+Image output
+------------
+
+The kernel documentation build system contains an extension that
+handles images on both GraphViz and SVG formats (see
+:ref:`sphinx_kfigure`).
+
+For it to work, you need to install both GraphViz and ImageMagick
+packages. If those packages are not installed, the build system will
+still build the documentation, but won't include any images at the
+output.
+
+PDF and LaTeX builds
+--------------------
+
+Such builds are currently supported only with Sphinx versions 2.4 and higher.
+
+For PDF and LaTeX output, you'll also need ``XeLaTeX`` version 3.14159265.
+
+Depending on the distribution, you may also need to install a series of
+``texlive`` packages that provide the minimal set of functionalities
+required for ``XeLaTeX`` to work.
+
+Math Expressions in HTML
+------------------------
+
+Some ReST pages contain math expressions. Due to the way Sphinx works,
+those expressions are written using LaTeX notation.
+There are two options for Sphinx to render math expressions in html output.
+One is an extension called `imgmath`_ which converts math expressions into
+images and embeds them in html pages.
+The other is an extension called `mathjax`_ which delegates math rendering
+to JavaScript capable web browsers.
+The former was the only option for pre-6.1 kernel documentation and it
+requires quite a few texlive packages including amsfonts and amsmath among
+others.
+
+Since kernel release 6.1, html pages with math expressions can be built
+without installing any texlive packages. See `Choice of Math Renderer`_ for
+further info.
+
+.. _imgmath: https://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/usage/extensions/math.html#module-sphinx.ext.imgmath
+.. _mathjax: https://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/master/usage/extensions/math.html#module-sphinx.ext.mathjax
+
+.. _sphinx-pre-install:
+
+Checking for Sphinx dependencies
+--------------------------------
+
+There's a script that automatically check for Sphinx dependencies. If it can
+recognize your distribution, it will also give a hint about the install
+command line options for your distro::
+
+ $ ./scripts/sphinx-pre-install
+ Checking if the needed tools for Fedora release 26 (Twenty Six) are available
+ Warning: better to also install "texlive-luatex85".
+ You should run:
+
+ sudo dnf install -y texlive-luatex85
+ /usr/bin/virtualenv sphinx_2.4.4
+ . sphinx_2.4.4/bin/activate
+ pip install -r Documentation/sphinx/requirements.txt
+
+ Can't build as 1 mandatory dependency is missing at ./scripts/sphinx-pre-install line 468.
+
+By default, it checks all the requirements for both html and PDF, including
+the requirements for images, math expressions and LaTeX build, and assumes
+that a virtual Python environment will be used. The ones needed for html
+builds are assumed to be mandatory; the others to be optional.
+
+It supports two optional parameters:
+
+``--no-pdf``
+ Disable checks for PDF;
+
+``--no-virtualenv``
+ Use OS packaging for Sphinx instead of Python virtual environment.
+
+
+Sphinx Build
+============
+
+The usual way to generate the documentation is to run ``make htmldocs`` or
+``make pdfdocs``. There are also other formats available: see the documentation
+section of ``make help``. The generated documentation is placed in
+format-specific subdirectories under ``Documentation/output``.
+
+To generate documentation, Sphinx (``sphinx-build``) must obviously be
+installed. For PDF output you'll also need ``XeLaTeX`` and ``convert(1)``
+from ImageMagick (https://www.imagemagick.org).\ [#ink]_ All of these are
+widely available and packaged in distributions.
+
+To pass extra options to Sphinx, you can use the ``SPHINXOPTS`` make
+variable. For example, use ``make SPHINXOPTS=-v htmldocs`` to get more verbose
+output.
+
+It is also possible to pass an extra DOCS_CSS overlay file, in order to customize
+the html layout, by using the ``DOCS_CSS`` make variable.
+
+By default, the "Alabaster" theme is used to build the HTML documentation;
+this theme is bundled with Sphinx and need not be installed separately.
+The Sphinx theme can be overridden by using the ``DOCS_THEME`` make variable.
+
+There is another make variable ``SPHINXDIRS``, which is useful when test
+building a subset of documentation. For example, you can build documents
+under ``Documentation/doc-guide`` by running
+``make SPHINXDIRS=doc-guide htmldocs``.
+The documentation section of ``make help`` will show you the list of
+subdirectories you can specify.
+
+To remove the generated documentation, run ``make cleandocs``.
+
+.. [#ink] Having ``inkscape(1)`` from Inkscape (https://inkscape.org)
+ as well would improve the quality of images embedded in PDF
+ documents, especially for kernel releases 5.18 and later.
+
+Choice of Math Renderer
+-----------------------
+
+Since kernel release 6.1, mathjax works as a fallback math renderer for
+html output.\ [#sph1_8]_
+
+Math renderer is chosen depending on available commands as shown below:
+
+.. table:: Math Renderer Choices for HTML
+
+ ============= ================= ============
+ Math renderer Required commands Image format
+ ============= ================= ============
+ imgmath latex, dvipng PNG (raster)
+ mathjax
+ ============= ================= ============
+
+The choice can be overridden by setting an environment variable
+``SPHINX_IMGMATH`` as shown below:
+
+.. table:: Effect of Setting ``SPHINX_IMGMATH``
+
+ ====================== ========
+ Setting Renderer
+ ====================== ========
+ ``SPHINX_IMGMATH=yes`` imgmath
+ ``SPHINX_IMGMATH=no`` mathjax
+ ====================== ========
+
+.. [#sph1_8] Fallback of math renderer requires Sphinx >=1.8.
+
+
+Writing Documentation
+=====================
+
+Adding new documentation can be as simple as:
+
+1. Add a new ``.rst`` file somewhere under ``Documentation``.
+2. Refer to it from the Sphinx main `TOC tree`_ in ``Documentation/index.rst``.
+
+.. _TOC tree: http://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/stable/markup/toctree.html
+
+This is usually good enough for simple documentation (like the one you're
+reading right now), but for larger documents it may be advisable to create a
+subdirectory (or use an existing one). For example, the graphics subsystem
+documentation is under ``Documentation/gpu``, split to several ``.rst`` files,
+and has a separate ``index.rst`` (with a ``toctree`` of its own) referenced from
+the main index.
+
+See the documentation for `Sphinx`_ and `reStructuredText`_ on what you can do
+with them. In particular, the Sphinx `reStructuredText Primer`_ is a good place
+to get started with reStructuredText. There are also some `Sphinx specific
+markup constructs`_.
+
+.. _reStructuredText Primer: http://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/stable/rest.html
+.. _Sphinx specific markup constructs: http://www.sphinx-doc.org/en/stable/markup/index.html
+
+Specific guidelines for the kernel documentation
+------------------------------------------------
+
+Here are some specific guidelines for the kernel documentation:
+
+* Please don't go overboard with reStructuredText markup. Keep it
+ simple. For the most part the documentation should be plain text with
+ just enough consistency in formatting that it can be converted to
+ other formats.
+
+* Please keep the formatting changes minimal when converting existing
+ documentation to reStructuredText.
+
+* Also update the content, not just the formatting, when converting
+ documentation.
+
+* Please stick to this order of heading adornments:
+
+ 1. ``=`` with overline for document title::
+
+ ==============
+ Document title
+ ==============
+
+ 2. ``=`` for chapters::
+
+ Chapters
+ ========
+
+ 3. ``-`` for sections::
+
+ Section
+ -------
+
+ 4. ``~`` for subsections::
+
+ Subsection
+ ~~~~~~~~~~
+
+ Although RST doesn't mandate a specific order ("Rather than imposing a fixed
+ number and order of section title adornment styles, the order enforced will be
+ the order as encountered."), having the higher levels the same overall makes
+ it easier to follow the documents.
+
+* For inserting fixed width text blocks (for code examples, use case
+ examples, etc.), use ``::`` for anything that doesn't really benefit
+ from syntax highlighting, especially short snippets. Use
+ ``.. code-block:: <language>`` for longer code blocks that benefit
+ from highlighting. For a short snippet of code embedded in the text, use \`\`.
+
+
+the C domain
+------------
+
+The **Sphinx C Domain** (name c) is suited for documentation of C API. E.g. a
+function prototype:
+
+.. code-block:: rst
+
+ .. c:function:: int ioctl( int fd, int request )
+
+The C domain of the kernel-doc has some additional features. E.g. you can
+*rename* the reference name of a function with a common name like ``open`` or
+``ioctl``:
+
+.. code-block:: rst
+
+ .. c:function:: int ioctl( int fd, int request )
+ :name: VIDIOC_LOG_STATUS
+
+The func-name (e.g. ioctl) remains in the output but the ref-name changed from
+``ioctl`` to ``VIDIOC_LOG_STATUS``. The index entry for this function is also
+changed to ``VIDIOC_LOG_STATUS``.
+
+Please note that there is no need to use ``c:func:`` to generate cross
+references to function documentation. Due to some Sphinx extension magic,
+the documentation build system will automatically turn a reference to
+``function()`` into a cross reference if an index entry for the given
+function name exists. If you see ``c:func:`` use in a kernel document,
+please feel free to remove it.
+
+Tables
+------
+
+ReStructuredText provides several options for table syntax. Kernel style for
+tables is to prefer *simple table* syntax or *grid table* syntax. See the
+`reStructuredText user reference for table syntax`_ for more details.
+
+.. _reStructuredText user reference for table syntax:
+ https://docutils.sourceforge.io/docs/user/rst/quickref.html#tables
+
+list tables
+~~~~~~~~~~~
+
+The list-table formats can be useful for tables that are not easily laid
+out in the usual Sphinx ASCII-art formats. These formats are nearly
+impossible for readers of the plain-text documents to understand, though,
+and should be avoided in the absence of a strong justification for their
+use.
+
+The ``flat-table`` is a double-stage list similar to the ``list-table`` with
+some additional features:
+
+* column-span: with the role ``cspan`` a cell can be extended through
+ additional columns
+
+* row-span: with the role ``rspan`` a cell can be extended through
+ additional rows
+
+* auto span rightmost cell of a table row over the missing cells on the right
+ side of that table-row. With Option ``:fill-cells:`` this behavior can
+ changed from *auto span* to *auto fill*, which automatically inserts (empty)
+ cells instead of spanning the last cell.
+
+options:
+
+* ``:header-rows:`` [int] count of header rows
+* ``:stub-columns:`` [int] count of stub columns
+* ``:widths:`` [[int] [int] ... ] widths of columns
+* ``:fill-cells:`` instead of auto-spanning missing cells, insert missing cells
+
+roles:
+
+* ``:cspan:`` [int] additional columns (*morecols*)
+* ``:rspan:`` [int] additional rows (*morerows*)
+
+The example below shows how to use this markup. The first level of the staged
+list is the *table-row*. In the *table-row* there is only one markup allowed,
+the list of the cells in this *table-row*. Exceptions are *comments* ( ``..`` )
+and *targets* (e.g. a ref to ``:ref:`last row <last row>``` / :ref:`last row
+<last row>`).
+
+.. code-block:: rst
+
+ .. flat-table:: table title
+ :widths: 2 1 1 3
+
+ * - head col 1
+ - head col 2
+ - head col 3
+ - head col 4
+
+ * - row 1
+ - field 1.1
+ - field 1.2 with autospan
+
+ * - row 2
+ - field 2.1
+ - :rspan:`1` :cspan:`1` field 2.2 - 3.3
+
+ * .. _`last row`:
+
+ - row 3
+
+Rendered as:
+
+ .. flat-table:: table title
+ :widths: 2 1 1 3
+
+ * - head col 1
+ - head col 2
+ - head col 3
+ - head col 4
+
+ * - row 1
+ - field 1.1
+ - field 1.2 with autospan
+
+ * - row 2
+ - field 2.1
+ - :rspan:`1` :cspan:`1` field 2.2 - 3.3
+
+ * .. _`last row`:
+
+ - row 3
+
+Cross-referencing
+-----------------
+
+Cross-referencing from one documentation page to another can be done simply by
+writing the path to the document file, no special syntax required. The path can
+be either absolute or relative. For absolute paths, start it with
+"Documentation/". For example, to cross-reference to this page, all the
+following are valid options, depending on the current document's directory (note
+that the ``.rst`` extension is required)::
+
+ See Documentation/doc-guide/sphinx.rst. This always works.
+ Take a look at sphinx.rst, which is at this same directory.
+ Read ../sphinx.rst, which is one directory above.
+
+If you want the link to have a different rendered text other than the document's
+title, you need to use Sphinx's ``doc`` role. For example::
+
+ See :doc:`my custom link text for document sphinx <sphinx>`.
+
+For most use cases, the former is preferred, as it is cleaner and more suited
+for people reading the source files. If you come across a ``:doc:`` usage that
+isn't adding any value, please feel free to convert it to just the document
+path.
+
+For information on cross-referencing to kernel-doc functions or types, see
+Documentation/doc-guide/kernel-doc.rst.
+
+.. _sphinx_kfigure:
+
+Figures & Images
+================
+
+If you want to add an image, you should use the ``kernel-figure`` and
+``kernel-image`` directives. E.g. to insert a figure with a scalable
+image format, use SVG (:ref:`svg_image_example`)::
+
+ .. kernel-figure:: svg_image.svg
+ :alt: simple SVG image
+
+ SVG image example
+
+.. _svg_image_example:
+
+.. kernel-figure:: svg_image.svg
+ :alt: simple SVG image
+
+ SVG image example
+
+The kernel figure (and image) directive supports **DOT** formatted files, see
+
+* DOT: http://graphviz.org/pdf/dotguide.pdf
+* Graphviz: http://www.graphviz.org/content/dot-language
+
+A simple example (:ref:`hello_dot_file`)::
+
+ .. kernel-figure:: hello.dot
+ :alt: hello world
+
+ DOT's hello world example
+
+.. _hello_dot_file:
+
+.. kernel-figure:: hello.dot
+ :alt: hello world
+
+ DOT's hello world example
+
+Embedded *render* markups (or languages) like Graphviz's **DOT** are provided by the
+``kernel-render`` directives.::
+
+ .. kernel-render:: DOT
+ :alt: foobar digraph
+ :caption: Embedded **DOT** (Graphviz) code
+
+ digraph foo {
+ "bar" -> "baz";
+ }
+
+How this will be rendered depends on the installed tools. If Graphviz is
+installed, you will see a vector image. If not, the raw markup is inserted as
+*literal-block* (:ref:`hello_dot_render`).
+
+.. _hello_dot_render:
+
+.. kernel-render:: DOT
+ :alt: foobar digraph
+ :caption: Embedded **DOT** (Graphviz) code
+
+ digraph foo {
+ "bar" -> "baz";
+ }
+
+The *render* directive has all the options known from the *figure* directive,
+plus option ``caption``. If ``caption`` has a value, a *figure* node is
+inserted. If not, an *image* node is inserted. A ``caption`` is also needed, if
+you want to refer to it (:ref:`hello_svg_render`).
+
+Embedded **SVG**::
+
+ .. kernel-render:: SVG
+ :caption: Embedded **SVG** markup
+ :alt: so-nw-arrow
+
+ <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+ <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" version="1.1" ...>
+ ...
+ </svg>
+
+.. _hello_svg_render:
+
+.. kernel-render:: SVG
+ :caption: Embedded **SVG** markup
+ :alt: so-nw-arrow
+
+ <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
+ <svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"
+ version="1.1" baseProfile="full" width="70px" height="40px" viewBox="0 0 700 400">
+ <line x1="180" y1="370" x2="500" y2="50" stroke="black" stroke-width="15px"/>
+ <polygon points="585 0 525 25 585 50" transform="rotate(135 525 25)"/>
+ </svg>