Re: python doc available in emacs info format?

[Jason Earl]

Eli Zaretskii <eliz@gnu.org> writes:

>> From: Xah Lee <xahlee@gmail.com>
>> Date: Sun, 16 Aug 2009 21:43:48 -0700 (PDT)
>> 
>> i feel kinda sad that emacs info format has pretty much been
>> deprecated over the past decade.
>
> Deprecated in favor of what alternatives?

In the case of Python the alternative was Sphinx

http://sphinx.pocoo.org/

As someone that has written my share of documentation, I can't
understand why anyone would push to make that switch, but that's what
has happened.  Sphinx generates beautiful HTML, but generating HTML is
the easiest part of the job for any documentation tool.

> The Info format has several valuable features that ``modern'' formats
> such as HTML lacks: e.g., indices with the associated index-search
> features.  Without these features, using a manual as a reference (as
> opposed to a book or tutorial you read for the first time) is a
> nuisance, especially if the manual is large and complex, like the
> Emacs manuals.

There's no question that the Info format, and Texinfo in general are
nice.  The real problem is that most folks, even in the Free Software
world, who are writing documentation have shifted away from Emacs.  At
least in the case of Sphinx this has basically resulted in reinventing
Texinfo, except AucTeX doesn't work with Sphinx's format.  As an added
bonus if the print version looks bad then you get to edit the
autogenerated LaTeX that Sphinx spits out.

It's easy for those of us that use Emacs to shake our heads that this
turn of events, but the real problem with formats like Texinfo (or
TeX-based formats in general) is that Emacs is basically the only sane
way to edit the formats.  I like Texinfo, for example, but I wouldn't
even dream of editing Texinfo in something besides Emacs.

Then again, Emacs is probably the only sane way to edit reStructuredText
as well.

Jason