documentation files - where to install ?

[Helmut Jarausch]

Hi,

when I say e.g. help('try') in an interactive Python (or idle) session I
get

Sorry, topic and keyword documentation is not available because the Python
HTML documentation files could not be found. If you have installed them,
please set the environment variable PYTHONDOCS to indicate their location.

So, what's the canonical installation location for the HTML documentation files
(if I don't want to use the environment variable PYTHONDOCS)

Many thanks for hint,

Helmut Jarausch

Lehrstuhl fuer Numerische Mathematik
RWTH - Aachen University
D 52056 Aachen, Germany

 

[Peter Otten]

So, what's the canonical installation location for the HTML documentation
files (if I don't want to use the environment variable PYTHONDOCS)

Here's where Python 2.3 looks for the documentation:

<pydoc.py excerpt>
homedir = os.environ.get('PYTHONHOME')
for dir in [os.environ.get('PYTHONDOCS'),
homedir and os.path.join(homedir, 'doc'),
os.path.join(execdir, 'doc'),
'/usr/doc/python-docs-' + split(sys.version)[0],
'/usr/doc/python-' + split(sys.version)[0],
'/usr/doc/python-docs-' + sys.version[:3],
'/usr/doc/python-' + sys.version[:3],
os.path.join(sys.prefix,
'Resources/English.lproj/Documentation')]:
if dir and os.path.isdir(os.path.join(dir, 'lib')):
self.docdir = dir
</pydoc.py excerpt>

I've got the impression there may be a 'break' missing.

Peter

 

[Helmut Jarausch]

Helmut Jarausch wrote:

So, what's the canonical installation location for the HTML documentation
files (if I don't want to use the environment variable PYTHONDOCS)

Here's where Python 2.3 looks for the documentation:

<pydoc.py excerpt>
homedir = os.environ.get('PYTHONHOME')
for dir in [os.environ.get('PYTHONDOCS'),
homedir and os.path.join(homedir, 'doc'),
os.path.join(execdir, 'doc'),
'/usr/doc/python-docs-' + split(sys.version)[0],
'/usr/doc/python-' + split(sys.version)[0],
'/usr/doc/python-docs-' + sys.version[:3],
'/usr/doc/python-' + sys.version[:3],
os.path.join(sys.prefix,
'Resources/English.lproj/Documentation')]:
if dir and os.path.isdir(os.path.join(dir, 'lib')):
self.docdir = dir
</pydoc.py excerpt>

I've got the impression there may be a 'break' missing.

Strangely, it looks the same here (Python 2.4 installed in /usr/local/lib/python2.4)
I would have expected something like /usr/local/lib/python2.4/doc
So, I'd like to suggest to add a 'configure' option for this.

Helmut.

 

[Peter Otten]

Helmut Jarausch wrote:

So, what's the canonical installation location for the HTML documentation
files (if I don't want to use the environment variable PYTHONDOCS)

Here's where Python 2.3 looks for the documentation:

<pydoc.py excerpt>
homedir = os.environ.get('PYTHONHOME')
for dir in [os.environ.get('PYTHONDOCS'),
homedir and os.path.join(homedir, 'doc'),
os.path.join(execdir, 'doc'),
'/usr/doc/python-docs-' + split(sys.version)[0],
'/usr/doc/python-' + split(sys.version)[0],
'/usr/doc/python-docs-' + sys.version[:3],
'/usr/doc/python-' + sys.version[:3],
os.path.join(sys.prefix,
'Resources/English.lproj/Documentation')]:
if dir and os.path.isdir(os.path.join(dir, 'lib')):
self.docdir = dir
</pydoc.py excerpt>

I've got the impression there may be a 'break' missing.

Strangely, it looks the same here (Python 2.4 installed in
/usr/local/lib/python2.4) I would have expected something like
/usr/local/lib/python2.4/doc So, I'd like to suggest to add a 'configure'
option for this.

No patience to read up http://www.pathname.com/fhs/pub/fhs-2.3.html right
now, but if there is a standard location for documentation concerning
programs installed from source (/usr/local/share/doc/pythonXXX with the
proper version suffix maybe?) it could just be added to the hardcoded paths
in pydoc.py.
What would you expect the configure option to do?

Peter

 

[Helmut Jarausch]

Here's where Python 2.3 looks for the documentation:

<pydoc.py excerpt>
homedir = os.environ.get('PYTHONHOME')
for dir in [os.environ.get('PYTHONDOCS'),
homedir and os.path.join(homedir, 'doc'),
os.path.join(execdir, 'doc'),
'/usr/doc/python-docs-' + split(sys.version)[0],
'/usr/doc/python-' + split(sys.version)[0],
'/usr/doc/python-docs-' + sys.version[:3],
'/usr/doc/python-' + sys.version[:3],
os.path.join(sys.prefix,
'Resources/English.lproj/Documentation')]:
if dir and os.path.isdir(os.path.join(dir, 'lib')):
self.docdir = dir
</pydoc.py excerpt>

I've got the impression there may be a 'break' missing.

Strangely, it looks the same here (Python 2.4 installed in
/usr/local/lib/python2.4) I would have expected something like
/usr/local/lib/python2.4/doc So, I'd like to suggest to add a 'configure'
option for this.

No patience to read up http://www.pathname.com/fhs/pub/fhs-2.3.html right
now, but if there is a standard location for documentation concerning
programs installed from source (/usr/local/share/doc/pythonXXX with the
proper version suffix maybe?) it could just be added to the hardcoded paths
in pydoc.py.
What would you expect the configure option to do?

Given, say, the configure option --docdir=PATH, the install script
could modify pydoc.py to include that PATH just after
os.environ.get('PYTHONDOCS')

Helmut.


--
Helmut Jarausch

Lehrstuhl fuer Numerische Mathematik
RWTH - Aachen University
D 52056 Aachen, Germany