[Visualpython-users] Doc files

[Bruce S. <ba...@an...>]

The idlefork project at sourceforge.net began with the IDLE version created 
by Dave Scherer in the VPython context. It is now being extended, and bugs 
being fixed, with the goal of becoming the version of IDLE to be 
distributed with future versions of Python. The idlefork version has 
reached a level of maturity that makes it feasible to use it rather than 
the original VPython version, with the long-term advantage of there being 
only one version of Scherer-based IDLE to maintain and extend.

In the past, the VPython installer installed Doc\VPython.html with a link 
to Doc\index.html, the standard documentation home page for Python. The 
original VPython version of IDLE linked to Doc\VPython.html when you 
pressed F1 for help. The idlefork version links to index.html, and it would 
be desirable not to change IDLE to accomodate the wider documentation needs 
of Python+Visual.

In the idlefork discussion I proposed overwriting index.html with the 
VPython index, and installing a copy of the Python index. But a reader 
pointed out that he makes changes to the Python index (to add more 
documentation links), and the VPython installer would overwrite the 
changes. I think I've sorted out how to build the VPython installer so as 
to preserve user changes to the standard Python Doc\index.html. If you see 
a hole in my logic, please criticize! I'm using Inno Setup with Extensions 
to create the installer.

1) In the Doc directory, if Python.html doesn't exist, copy index.html to 
Python.html.

2) If Python.html still doesn't exist, install a copy from the installation 
procedure.

3) Install index.html (the base of the VPython documentation, with link to 
Python.html), overwriting index.html if necessary.

4) Specify in the installer that Doc\index.html and Doc\Python.html are not 
to be removed by the VPython uninstaller.

I've tested this scheme to some extent, but I'm worried that I might have a 
logical flaw somewhere. It does seem robust to multiple installs and 
uninstalls of VPython. The only problem I've found with it is that if there 
is no Doc\index.html, you get an error message, but if you choose "skip" 
(rather than aborting the installation) both index.html and Python.html are 
installed correctly. However, if there is no index.html, there are other 
things wrong anyway, so maybe this isn't terrible (or maybe I can find a 
way to have the installer not issue a warning in this case).

Bruce Sherwood