Quickref: Common Lisp Reference Documentation as a Stress Test for Texinfo
Type
Event
Date
Aug 9, 2019 — Aug 11, 2019
Location
Hotel Sheraton
625 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, California 94301
Abstract
Quickref is a global documentation project for the Common Lisp ecosystem. It
creates reference manuals automatically by introspecting libraries and
generating corresponding documentation in Texinfo format. The Texinfo files
may subsequently be converted into PDF or HTML. Quickref is non-intrusive:
software developers do not have anything to do to get their libraries
documented by the system. Quickref may be used to create a local website
documenting your current, partial, working environment, but it is also able
to document the whole Common Lisp ecosystem at once. The result is a website
containing almost two thousand reference manuals. Quickref provides a Docker
image for an easy recreation of this website, but a public version is also
available and actively maintained. Quickref constitutes an enormous and
successful stress test for Texinfo. In this paper, we give an overview of
the design and architecture of the system, describe the challenges and
difficulties in generating valid Texinfo code automatically, and put some
emphasis on the currently remaining problems and deficiencies.