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Re: [platform-help-dev] Allow environment variables in hrefs in toc files
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Using links mechanism to extend platform with plugins from different
location is documented in on-line help. Search on-line help for 'product
links' and read 'Product Extensions' document. You can also check
http://dev.eclipse.org/viewcvs/index.cgi/~checkout~/platform-update-home/doc/eclipse-installer.html
. The link is usually written by an installation program for your product
or extension.
With contributed URL handlers thought, nobody would modify URLs on the fly,
but your code in a plug-in that contributed a URL handler would be called
to obtain the content from this URL. Your code would have the freedom on
how to interpret the URL, and which document (or more precisely an
InputStream) to return.
2.1 development stream is feature frozen. With 2.1 code, help can display
documents contributed in a plugin, or any documents with http: or file:
URLs, but indexes and searches only ones that are part of a plugin.
Allowing for specifying arbitrary protocols in TOCs, or resolving variables
in file: protocol requires changes to help code, and cannot happen earlier
than 2.2 release. On the other hand, links mechanism is in place already.
If you can use it, your documentation plug-ins will be treated as any other
plug-ins that are installed under eclipse directory. You will not have to
rely on file: protocol, and from help system point of view there will be no
difference where your plugins are actually installed. The assumption that
help contents is contributed in plug-ins will hold true, and the eclipse
platform will take care of the details what is the actual file system path
of documentation.
Konrad Kolosowski
Eclipse Help System
Mary Kroening
<mary@xxxxxxxx> To: platform-help-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx, platform-help-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx
Sent by: cc: platform-help-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx, platform-help-dev-admin@xxxxxxxxxxx
platform-help-dev-admin@ Subject: Re: [platform-help-dev] Allow environment variables in hrefs in toc files
eclipse.org
03/17/2003 03:09 PM
Please respond to
platform-help-dev
How do I find out how to use the Eclipse links mechanism? I'm having
trouble finding it in the documentation or website. That may work for us.
But we will have to dynamically find that plug-in during Eclipse
installation or when one of our other plugins starts up. Can we do that?
I agree our problem is related to the others you mentioned. The URL handler
makes sense to me (if I fully understand it). If it lets me modify URLs on
the fly, that will work. I notice there is a url handler extension point
now. Are you saying this will work in 2.1? Or will help need to be modified
to make use of a url handler?
Thanks,
Mary Kroening
Amzi! inc.
At 11:53 AM 3/17/2003 -0500, Konrad Kolosowski wrote:
>Mary,
>
>Currently Eclipse requires all documentation being contributed by
plug-ins,
>with the exception that it also supports file: protocol. To solve your
>issue, a simple solution, that would work in Eclipse 2.1 is to have your
>documentation installed outside of Eclipse installation tree, but still
>being packaged as plug-ins. If this is the case, you can then use Eclipse
>links mechanism to configure your outside plug-ins as an extension to
>Eclipse. I like this solution because it is generic, not specific to
help,
>and is implemented in Eclipse 2.1.
>
>Your problem is not an isolated, one. There exist request to have help
>server dynamically generated files (bug 9409), or for the TOCs to be
>changed at run-time. I think your case is a subset of these requests and
a
>solution that we decide to implement, should address most of them rather
>than be many special cases for each specific need. One solution that
comes
>to mind is to take advantage of URL handlers in Eclipse. Any plug-in can
>contribute a URL handler to Eclipse. If help code is changed to obtain
>document contents using these URLs, then TOC can define topics with
>attribute href="myurl://$AMZI_DIR/docs/pro/pug_overview.htm#Debugger" or
>href="myurl:/pro/pug_overview.htm#Debugger", and obtaining the contests
>would be delegated to the URL handler. URL handler contributors could
than
>code to obtain documents from whatever location, use whatever convention
>for variables in the path, or generate documents on the fly.
>
>2.1 code is pretty much frozen, but do not be discouraged. Please
continue
>the discussion, open features for the missing functionality, so we can
>decide on what goes into help 2.2.
>
>Konrad Kolosowski
>Eclipse Help System
>
>
>
>
>
> Mary
> Kroening
>
> <mary@xxxxxxxx> To:
> platform-help-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx
> Sent
> by: cc:
>
> platform-help-dev-admin@ Subject:
> [platform-help-dev] Allow environment variables in hrefs in toc files
> eclipse.org
>
>
>
>
>
> 03/16/2003 09:15
> AM
>
> Please respond
> to
>
> platform-help-dev
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>Hi,
>
>I would like to make and submit my first contribution to the Eclipse
>project to allow the use of environment variables in toc.xml files, e.g.
>
><topic label="Debugger" href="
>file://$AMZI_DIR/docs/pro/pug_overview.htm#Debugger" />
>
>We need this change because our docs are installed separately from the
>plug-in and their location is findable by the environment variable
AMZI_DIR
>(in this example).
>
>I have 3 questions.
>
>1) I believe the best place for this change is in normalizeHref in
>HrefUtils.java. Is that correct?
>2) What format is best for the environment variable? Some choices seem to
>be:
> $ENV_VAR or other special characters
> env://ENV_VAR/doc...
> ENV_VAR and always check file:// style href's to see if the first
>segment of the path is an
> environment variable
>3) There must be a lib/so in Eclipse that can provide the value of an
>environment variable. Would you know where that is?
>
>Thanks much,
>Mary Kroening
>
>
>
>
>----------------------------------------------------
> Amzi! inc.
> 5861 Greentree Road
> Lebanon, OH 45036 U.S.A.
> web http://www.amzi.com
> tel +1 513 425 8050
> e-mail info@xxxxxxxx
> fax +1 513 425 8025
>----------------------------------------------------
>
>
>
>
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>platform-help-dev mailing list
>platform-help-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx
>http://dev.eclipse.org/mailman/listinfo/platform-help-dev
----------------------------------------------------
Amzi! inc.
5861 Greentree Road
Lebanon, OH 45036 U.S.A.
web http://www.amzi.com
tel +1 513 425 8050
e-mail info@xxxxxxxx
fax +1 513 425 8025
----------------------------------------------------
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