Convert package Haddock to Dash docsets (IDE docs)

A Dash.app docset is a file-layout for allowing easy lookup and indexing of programming docs, e.g. API functions and modules. A number of plugins offer docset lookup in editors such as Emacs and Vim. By using this tool, one can convert haskell package haddock(s) to docsets.

The major benefit of dash-haskell, is that once these docsets are built, dash tools provide one of the few, if only solutions for offline, contextual, and project dependency approximate IDE documentation for Haskell.

Usage Examples:

$ dash-haskell parsec-3.1.5

builds:

./docsets/parsec-3.1.5.docset

$ dash-haskell -c foo.cabal -s

builds all packages listed as dependencies in the cabal file, using the default db ordering (global, sandbox, user).

Note: haddock documentation for the package must first be built prior to calling dash-haskell on it, e.g.

$ cabal install --only-dependencies --enable-documentation

Versions:

The version numbering scheme for this package is defined as follows, given:

dash-haskell-a.b.c.d

a, b index interface or feature changes to the CLI

c, d index bug-fix and documentation updates

dash-haskell

Never Google for Hackage Results Again - ian, barnacles.blackfriday

direct to browser lookup:

keyword, module, and package searching:

dash-haskell facilitates Haskell documentation in IDE(s) with the following qualities:

• Local

  Documentation is stored in dash docsets on the filesystem, avoiding the need to query often inaccurate, version lagged information from a remote resource such as hackage, hoogle, or hayoo.

• Resolved from Project Dependencies

  With dash-haskell, one can build dash docsets from:

  • packages listed as dependencies of a *.cabal file
  • packages in a cabal sandbox
  • an arbitrary package db

• Scope Narrowed

  IDE plugins such as helm-dash allow for only specific docsets to be active. This means that when searching for an identifier, e.g. fromJust, only the packages you've built in your configuration are searched. Searches can then be further narrowed by module etc.

• Prolifically Standardized

  dash docsets are an open, easily assimilated standard, and are used across many IDE(s).

Usage Examples

dash-haskell -c foo.cabal -s

builds all packages listed as dependencies in foo.cabal, using atleast the cabal sandbox db

dash-haskell parsec-3.1.5

builds docsets/parsec-3.1.5.docset using the default db ordering (global, user).

Note: haddock documentation for the package must first be built prior to calling dash-haskell on it, e.g.

$ cabal install --only-dependencies --enable-documentation

dash-haskell tries to be as self-documenting as possible. Please see:

dash-haskell --help and dash-haskell help [option|topic]

Summary

dash-haskell v1.1.0.2, a dash docset construction tool for Haskell packages

Usage: dash-haskell [-o|--output <dir>] [-q|--quiet] [-c|--cabal <file.cabal>]
                    [-x|--cabal-excludes ghc,lens..] [-s|--sandbox]
                    [-n|--no-user] [--db <path-to-package-db>]
                    [-d|--ordering user,sandbox..] [packages]
  additional help is available with "dash-haskell help <topic|option>"

Available options:
  -h,--help                Show this help text
  -o,--output <dir>        the directory to write created docsets to
  -q,--quiet               set to quiet output
  -c,--cabal <file.cabal>  the cabal file to retrieve package dependencies from
  -x,--cabal-excludes ghc,lens..
                           limit package results from a cabal file source
  -s,--sandbox             use cabal sandbox
  -n,--no-user             don't source packages from user db
  --db <path-to-package-db>
                           package db directory
  -d,--ordering user,sandbox..
                           ordering of user, dir, and sandbox db's
  packages                 a list of packages to specifically build, e.g.
                           either-1.0.1 text

http://www.github.com/jfeltz/dash-haskell (C) John P. Feltz 2014, 2015

Installation

$ cabal install dash-haskell

or

 $ git clone http://www.github.com/jfeltz/dash-haskell
 $ cd dash-haskell
 $ cabal install

Package Resolution

For best results, try to be version specific when providing package arguments, unless you're judicious about which packages are stored, for example, in your cabal sandbox db or ghc package db.

IDE Configuration

To use the generated docsets, you will need a plugin for your particular IDE which can access them.

• Emacs

  dash-haskell is tested with the following for emacs:

  • helm , a fuzzy finder plugin for emacs
  • helm-dash , the essential extension to helm in order to lookup dash docsets

  For limiting helm-dash to project specific docsets, the following also helps.

  (defun activate-package-docsets (root)
  (progn
     (setq helm-dash-docsets-path root)
     (setq helm-dash-common-docsets (helm-dash-installed-docsets))
  
     (message
      (format "activated %d docsets from: %s"
        (length helm-dash-common-docsets) root))
  ))
  

  (activate-package-docsets "/path/to/project/docsets/")
  

* For **Vim**, see the following known docset plugins:

    * The zealdocs [vim plugin](http://www.zealdocs.org)
    * The Dash.app [vim plugin](https://github.com/rizzatti/dash.vim)

Features slated for V2
======================
* handle **docset pre-builts and project synchronization**

  set pre-built criteria, pre-built skipping, project package sync.
  and provide a ```--rebuild``` to force rebuild of a docset

* **version biasing**

  provide option to bias package version to highest when it is otherwise ambiguous

* **summaries**

  provide summary information to help users better understand which
  packages failed and succeeded

* ```conf``` argument support

    build docset directly from a package db .conf

* ```doc``` argument

    build docsets directly from a package doc directory
    (containing the requisite ```*.haddock``` interface and html files)

Contributors
============
Hirotomo Moriwaki : <[email protected]>

The major instigator of this project was Hirotomo Moriwaki's [haddocset](https://github.com/philopon/haddocset), with much of the early implementation of *dash-haskell* influenced by that code-base.

Rudi Grinberg : [github](http://github.com/rgrinberg)

For patches, testing, and helping maintain compatibility of ```dash-haskell-1.0.x.x``` with ghc changes

Author & Maintainer
===================
John P. Feltz <[email protected]>