-----Original Message----- From: boost-bounces@lists.boost.org [mailto:boost-bounces@lists.boost.org] On Behalf Of Artyom Sent: Friday, May 06, 2011 5:45 PM To: boost@lists.boost.org Subject: [boost] [autoindex] Rationale Question
Hello,
It is not a review but rather questions about this tool rationale.
Form the very brief look into AutoIndex documentation I see.
... AutoIndex will automatically scan one or more C/C++ header files and extract all the function, class, macro and typedef names that are defined by those headers, and then insert the <indexterm>s into the Docbook XML document for you.
So there is a well debugged, tested, supported indexing tool (Doxygen) that as far as I know works fine and is already used by Boost.
So the question are 1. How does it differs from Doxygen indexing?
It indexes *everything* in Docbook documentation text, not just the functions, macros ... that Doxygen does (and should be done by Doxygen in the Library Reference section). (Actually you can control what it indexes and what it doesn't, quite finely, and create sub-indexes, etc but the simple default action is to index everything). The *big* limitation of a Doxygen index is that you have to know (or guess) the name of the function/class... If you just want to know 'how to do something', you are stuck - and I often find I am :-) You can get the flavour of a trivial (silly even) demo/template at https://svn.boost.org/svn/boost/sandbox/guild/mylibrary/doc/mylibrary.pdf and bit more of the flavour of a small real-life Boost library refurbishment project at https://svn.boost.org/svn/boost-sandbox/guild/pool/libs/pool/doc/pool.pdf and if you are prepared to wait download 6 Mbyte https://svn.boost.org/svn/boost/sandbox/SOC/2007/visualization/libs/svg_plot... has quite full Doxygen function documentation AND an index of the documentation. None of these are as good as I would wish, but that's lack of time and enthusiasm, not the tool. So AutoIndex is *additional to*, not instead of Doxygen indexing. HTH Paul --- Paul A. Bristow, Prizet Farmhouse, Kendal LA8 8AB UK +44 1539 561830 07714330204 pbristow@hetp.u-net.com