How to Use Sphinx for Documentation

This guide explains how to effectively use Sphinx to create high-quality documentation for your developed plugin.

Why Use Sphinx?

Sphinx is a powerful documentation generator that supports reStructuredText (reST) and provides features such as:

Automatic table of contents and cross-referencing
Code highlighting and autodoc for API documentation
Integration with Read the Docs and PDF/HTML outputs
Easy customization with themes and extensions

Setting Up Sphinx

To begin using Sphinx, follow these steps:

Set Up a Python Virtual Environment

We strongly recommend using a Python virtual environment before installing any packages to avoid dependency conflicts.
```
python -m venv env
source ./env/bin/activate
```
Install Sphinx and a Theme
```
pip install sphinx sphinx_rtd_theme
```
Create a New Documentation Project OR use our user-manual, dev-manual respositories
```
sphinx-quickstart #Only required if starting from empty docs directory.
```
Follow the prompts to configure your documentation directory.

We recommend separating the source and build directories for better organization.

Organize Your Documentation

Structure your files as follows:

docs/
├── build/           # Generated output files
├── source/
│   ├── conf.py      # Sphinx configuration file
│   ├── index.rst    # Main entry point
│   ├── images/      # Store images and diagrams (create this directory)

Writing Good Documentation

1. Use Clear Headings and Structure Use hierarchical headings to break your documentation into sections. Example:

My Section
==========

Subsection
----------

Sub-subsection
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

2. Formatting Text Properly Use the following conventions for formatting:

Bold text: **bold text**
Italic text: *italic text*
Inline code: ``inline code``
Lists:
```
- Item 1
- Item 2
```
Numbered lists:
```
1. First step
2. Second step
```

3. Documenting Attributes and Fields Each attribute should be clearly described with its purpose, type, and possible values. Example:

- **supannMailPrivee**: Defines the user's private email address.
  - **Type**: String
  - **Example**: ``user@example.com``

4. Including Images and Diagrams Place images inside the images/ folder and reference them in your documentation as follows:

.. image:: images/example.png
   :alt: Example Image

5. Cross-Referencing Sections and Files To create cross-references, use:

See :ref:`another-section` for more details.

Or reference a separate file:

See :doc:`usage` for more information.

Building the Documentation

Once your documentation is written, build it using:

make html

The generated HTML files will be available in the build/html/ directory.

Guidelines for Your Plugin Documentation

When documenting your plugin, follow these best practices to ensure clarity, completeness, and ease of use:

Introduction: Provide an overview of your plugin, its purpose, and the key benefits it offers.
Attribute Documentation: Clearly describe each attribute, including its type, purpose, default values, and possible options.
Method Documentation: Explain each method’s functionality, parameters, return values, and any references or inherited behaviors.
Workflow Explanation: Outline the logical flow of your plugin, detailing how methods interact and contribute to its overall functionality.
Conclusion: Summarize the plugin’s usage, highlighting its main features and potential applications.

By following these guidelines, you will create well-structured and user-friendly documentation for your plugin.

Conclusion

By following these best practices, you can create clear, well-structured, and professional documentation using Sphinx.

For more details, visit the official Sphinx documentation: 📌 https://www.sphinx-doc.org/