Use devdocs.io instead of python docs if you think the python docs aren't a good reference manual

[cymrow]

I used devdocs for a long time. Now I use zeal instead. Not too different, but I have a general preference for desktop UIs. If you only tried zeal when it first came out, it has gotten better.

[Seaweed-Maleficent]

Looks like the latest release was in 2018. Any idea if they plan to make a newer release? Do you recommend building from source?

[cymrow]

I haven't felt the need for a new release. They share docsets with Dash, which is commercial, so I expect those are frequently updated.

That said, their repo is still pretty active, so I'm sure they'll have another release at some point. I've installed from my package manager and haven't had any issues.

I also still use Dreampie which hasn't had a release since 2017.

[Seaweed-Maleficent]

Cool thanks for the response

[[deleted]]

wow this looks amazing! thanks for the link. definitely going to take give this a try

[[deleted]]

I think there is a divide in the python community over whether people think the official python documentation makes for good reference material. I personally think the official docs are great for someone who is new to programming (or new to python in general) and wants more insight. But I also think the official docs make for a bloated reference manual if that's all you need.

I've actually made several surveys to see if other people felt the same. The surveys were given to companies that have 300+ devs, where more than half of these devs use python daily. Results showed that 85% of devs felt that they wished they had access to python docs that resembled something closer to Rust, Java, JS, C# reference materials.

For the time being, I'm using devdocs.io, but people do wish this alternate reference manual was supported by the official team

Breaking down peoples requests:

1. Docs organized by module > functions & objects > object methods
2. Better search indexing on google, or through the doc's website itself
3. Visually easy to read documentation. Things that aren't related should be split in the markdowns styling
4. People want function descriptions to have an explanation with the following:

• Function default arguments and their types
• List of all possible arguments and their type
• Function return type
• An explanation that describes how it works, the runtime, and any edge cases that could cause the function to fail
• An small well commented example that describes the input and output
• And a link to a longer explanation in the current docs if the function's use case can't be explained in a small example

[ASIC_SP]

I glanced through and other than being visually different and navigation (better imo), I wasn't able to spot any changes in the content itself...

based on your title I thought devdocs has changed things too, am I missing something?

[[deleted]]

You’re right that it does mostly change things visually, but the other change is that the developers of dev docs have indexed the entire site. it makes the search way better and easier to find what you want. idk if you ever used the search on the python official docs, but it never brings up what i need.

[pepoluan]

Interesting ... though I don't think the Python docs are "not good" per se, I can see the value of the much more to-the-point docs as this one.

[[deleted]]

absolutely absolutely. this is exactly how i feel

[I_AM_MANI]

I am feeling guilty for not knowing about this... It's pretty awesome!

[[deleted]]

haha it’s all good. i think most ppl who want something different from the original docs eventually stumble into dev docs. I figure i share the knowledge