Re: GDP: perl programmer needed for creating HTML docs

[Graham Percival]

Jan Nieuwenhuizen wrote:
> Graham Percival writes:
>
> > We currently use `makeinfo --html' to build the online documentation.
> > Makeinfo is the normal way to create texinfo docs, but it lacks many
> > useful features.  Most importantly, it can't create HTML pages split
> > into subsections; it only creates split output based on nodes.
>
> What features do we really need there?  I have worked on makeinfo
> before, so I could have a look.
>
> If you need to split at subsections, can't you add a @node there?

I discussed this briefly with Karl Berry and we decided that texi2html 
was probably better, but if you want to hack makeinfo, here's the issues:
- we want to split by @subsection, _not_ by @node.  GDP now uses 
@unnumberedsubsubsec for the main doc portions.  makeinfo can only split 
by @node.  We can't get rid of @node for the @unnumberedsubsubsec 
without losing basically all our HTML links.
http://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/bug-texinfo/2007-09/msg00040.html

- there's some desire to display the TOC in a frame (or 
"not-really-a-frame-but-some-special-CSS-thing-that-acts-like-a-frame") 
to the left of the HTML docs.  As long as this can be turned off by the 
user (which I've been told it is), I'm all for this.

- there might be some other special HTML/CSS tweaks that our younger 
"web 2.0" crowd want to do.  If they can come up with something, without 
the rest of us having to spend time working on it, then I'll certainly 
consider adding it.  But it seems to me like texi2html is the place to 
add any extra bells and whistles.


I have received one offer of help from a user, and Patrice Dumas (the 
texi2html guy) is also willing to investigate, so I think this is under 
control for the moment.

Cheers,
- Graham