doctools::toc::export::json(n) Documentation tools doctools::toc::export::json(n) 







doctools::toc::export::json - JSON export plugin








package require Tcl 8.4


package require doctools::toc::export::json ?0.1?


package require textutil::adjust 


export serial configuration












This package implements the doctools table of contents export
    plugin for the generation of JSON markup.


This is an internal package of doctools, for use by the higher
    level management packages handling tables of contents, especially
    doctools::toc::export, the export manager.


Using it from a regular interpreter is possible, however only with
    contortions, and is not recommended. The proper way to use this
    functionality is through the package doctools::toc::export and the
    export manager objects it provides.








The API provided by this package satisfies the specification of
    the doctoc export plugin API version 2.



  

  
This command takes the canonical serialization of a table of contents, as
      specified in section ToC serialization format, and contained in
      serial, the configuration, a dictionary, and generates JSON
      markup encoding the table. The created string is then returned as the
      result of the command.










The JSON format used for tables of contents is a direct
    translation of the ToC serialization format, mapping Tcl dictionaries
    as JSON objects and Tcl lists as JSON arrays. For example, the Tcl
    serialization


doctools::toc {


    items {


        {reference {
	    desc {DocTools - Tables of Contents}
	     id introduction.man
	     label doctools::toc::introduction
	}}
	{division {
	     id processing.man
	     items {
	         {reference {
		     desc {doctoc serialization utilities}
		     id structure.man
		     label doctools::toc::structure
		 }}
		 {reference {
		     desc {Parsing text in doctoc format}
		     id parse.man
		     label doctools::toc::parse
		 }}
	     }


             label Processing


        }}


    }


    label {Table of Contents}


    title TOC
}



is equivalent to the JSON string


{


    "doctools::toc" : {


        "items" : [{


            "reference" : {


                "desc"  : "DocTools - Tables of Contents",


                "id"    : "introduction.man",


                "label" : "doctools::toc::introduction"


            }


        },{


            "division" : {


                "id"    : "processing.man",


                "items" : [{


                    "reference" : {


                        "desc"  : "doctoc serialization utilities",


                        "id"    : "structure.man",


                        "label" : "doctools::toc::structure"


                    }


                },{


                    "reference" : {


                        "desc"  : "Parsing text in doctoc format",


                        "id"    : "parse.man",


                        "label" : "doctools::toc::parse"


                    }


                }],


                "label" : "Processing"


            }


        }],


        "label" : "Table of Contents",


        "title" : "TOC"


    }
}









The JSON export plugin recognizes the following configuration
    variables and changes its behaviour as they specify.



  

  
If this flag is set the plugin will break the generated JSON code across
      lines and indent it according to its inner structure, with each key of a
      dictionary on a separate line.
    
If this flag is not set (the default), the whole JSON object
        will be written on a single line, with minimum spacing between all
        elements.

  

  

  
If this flag is set the generator ensures that the values for the keys in
      a dictionary are vertically aligned with each other, for a nice table
      effect. To make this work this also implies that indented is set.
    
If this flag is not set (the default), the output is formatted
        as per the value of indented, without trying to align the values
        for dictionary keys.

  




Note that this plugin ignores the standard configuration
    variables user, format, file, and map and their
    values.








Here we specify the format used by the doctools v2 packages to
    serialize tables of contents as immutable values for transport, comparison,
    etc.


We distinguish between regular and canonical
    serializations. While a table of contents may have more than one regular
    serialization only exactly one of them will be canonical.



  

  







  
[1]

  
The serialization of any table of contents is a nested Tcl
    dictionary.

  
[2]

  
This dictionary holds a single key, doctools::toc, and its value.
      This value holds the contents of the table of contents.

  
[3]

  
The contents of the table of contents are a Tcl dictionary holding the
      title of the table of contents, a label, and its elements. The relevant
      keys and their values are







  

  
The value is a string containing the title of the table of contents.

  

  
The value is a string containing a label for the table of contents.

  

  
The value is a Tcl list holding the elements of the table, in the order
      they are to be shown.
    
Each element is a Tcl list holding the type of the item, and
        its description, in this order. An alternative description would be that
        it is a Tcl dictionary holding a single key, the item type, mapped to
        the item description.

    
The two legal item types and their descriptions are

  







  

  
This item describes a single entry in the table of contents, referencing a
      single document. To this end its value is a Tcl dictionary containing an
      id for the referenced document, a label, and a longer textual description
      which can be associated with the entry. The relevant keys and their values
      are







  

  
The value is a string containing the id of the document associated with
      the entry.

  

  
The value is a string containing a label for this entry. This string also
      identifies the entry, and no two entries (references and divisions) in the
      containing list are allowed to have the same label.

  

  
The value is a string containing a longer description for this entry.







  

  
This item describes a group of entries in the table of contents, inducing
      a hierarchy of entries. To this end its value is a Tcl dictionary
      containing a label for the group, an optional id to a document for the
      whole group, and the list of entries in the group. The relevant keys and
      their values are







  

  
The value is a string containing the id of the document associated with
      the whole group. This key is optional.

  

  
The value is a string containing a label for the group. This string also
      identifies the entry, and no two entries (references and divisions) in the
      containing list are allowed to have the same label.

  

  
The value is a Tcl list holding the elements of the group, in the order
      they are to be shown. This list has the same structure as the value for
      the keyword items used to describe the whole table of contents, see
      above. This closes the recusrive definition of the structure, with
      divisions holding the same type of elements as the whole table of
      contents, including other divisions.













  

  
The canonical serialization of a table of contents has the format as
      specified in the previous item, and then additionally satisfies the
      constraints below, which make it unique among all the possible
      serializations of this table of contents.







  
[1]

  
The keys found in all the nested Tcl dictionaries are sorted in ascending
      dictionary order, as generated by Tcl's builtin command lsort
      -increasing -dict.












This document, and the package it describes, will undoubtedly
    contain bugs and other problems. Please report such in the category
    doctools of the Tcllib SF Trackers
    [http://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=12883]. Please also report any
    ideas for enhancements you may have for either package and/or
  documentation.








JSON, doctools, export, serialization, table of contents, toc








Text formatter plugin








Copyright (c) 2009 Andreas Kupries <andreas_kupries@users.sourceforge.net>








  

    0.1
    doctools2toc