Feature Request: `{gallery}` Directive For Jupyter Book

by Alex Johnson 56 views

Creating visually appealing and user-friendly documentation is crucial for the success of any project, especially when it comes to tutorials, recipes, and collections of examples. In this article, we will explore the feature request for a {gallery} directive within the Jupyter Book and MyST Markdown ecosystems. This proposed directive aims to simplify the creation of thumbnail galleries, enhancing the overall user experience and making it easier to showcase a collection of documents. The inspiration behind this request comes from the functionality offered by sphinx-gallery in the Sphinx documentation framework, particularly its user interface and user experience aspects.

The Need for a Thumbnail Gallery Directive

When dealing with a large number of tutorials, recipes, or example notebooks, presenting them in an organized and visually appealing manner becomes essential. A thumbnail gallery provides a concise and intuitive way for users to browse and discover content. Think of it like a visual table of contents, where each entry is represented by a thumbnail image and a title. This approach is particularly beneficial for projects like numpy-tutorials, where a collection of tutorials needs to be easily accessible and navigable.

Currently, Jupyter Book and MyST Markdown lack a built-in mechanism for generating such galleries. While the existing build and execution engine handles document conversion and execution admirably, the presentation layer could be significantly improved with a dedicated gallery directive. This is where the {gallery} directive proposal comes into play.

Benefits of a Gallery Directive

  • Enhanced User Experience: A thumbnail gallery provides a visually engaging way to present a collection of documents, making it easier for users to find what they are looking for.
  • Improved Navigation: Galleries act as visual tables of contents, allowing users to quickly scan and identify relevant content.
  • Consistency: A dedicated directive ensures a consistent look and feel for galleries throughout the documentation.
  • Simplified Workflow: The directive would automate the process of generating thumbnails and linking them to the corresponding documents, reducing manual effort.
  • Inspiration from Sphinx-Gallery: By drawing inspiration from the sphinx-gallery extension, the directive can leverage proven UI/UX patterns for gallery presentation.

The {gallery} Directive Proposal

The proposed {gallery} directive aims to provide a simple and intuitive way to create thumbnail galleries within Jupyter Book and MyST Markdown. The user-facing syntax would be similar to existing directives, making it easy to learn and use. Let's delve into the details of the proposal.

Proposed Syntax

The directive would be implemented using a Markdown-like syntax, leveraging the existing directive structure in MyST Markdown. Here's an example of how it might look:

```
{gallery}
---
:title: My gallery
---
path/to/article1
path/to/article2
...
```

In this example:

  • {gallery}: This is the directive name, indicating the start of the gallery definition.
  • ---: This separates the directive options from the list of documents.
  • :title: My gallery: This specifies the title of the gallery, which would be displayed above the thumbnails.
  • path/to/article1, path/to/article2, ...: These are the paths to the documents that should be included in the gallery. The paths could be relative or absolute, depending on the project structure.

Thumbnail and Title Generation

A crucial aspect of the gallery directive is how thumbnails and titles are generated for each document. The proposal suggests leveraging the frontmatter fields of the corresponding documents. Frontmatter is metadata included at the beginning of a document, typically in YAML format. This metadata can contain information such as the title, author, and description of the document.

The directive would look for specific frontmatter fields, such as title and thumbnail, to generate the gallery entries. If a thumbnail field is not explicitly provided, the directive could potentially use the first image in the document or generate a default thumbnail.

By utilizing frontmatter, the gallery directive can automatically extract the necessary information for creating the thumbnails and titles, further simplifying the process for users. This approach promotes consistency and reduces the need for manual configuration.

Customization Options

While the basic syntax provides a straightforward way to create galleries, it's essential to consider customization options to cater to different needs. The directive could potentially support options for:

  • Number of Columns: Specifying the number of columns in the gallery layout.
  • Thumbnail Size: Controlling the dimensions of the thumbnails.
  • Sorting: Defining the order in which the documents are displayed (e.g., alphabetical, date, manual).
  • Filtering: Including or excluding documents based on specific criteria.
  • Layout Templates: Allowing users to customize the overall appearance of the gallery.

These customization options would provide flexibility for users to tailor the gallery to their specific requirements and design preferences.

Implementation Considerations

Implementing the {gallery} directive would involve several key steps:

  1. Parsing the Directive: The MyST Markdown parser would need to be extended to recognize and process the {gallery} directive.
  2. Resolving Document Paths: The directive would need to resolve the provided document paths and ensure that the corresponding files exist.
  3. Extracting Frontmatter: The frontmatter of each document would need to be parsed to extract the title and thumbnail information.
  4. Generating Thumbnails: If thumbnails are not explicitly provided, the directive would need to generate them automatically. This could involve using image processing libraries to resize or crop images.
  5. Creating the Gallery Layout: The directive would need to generate the HTML or LaTeX code for the gallery layout, including the thumbnails, titles, and links to the documents.
  6. Integration with Jupyter Book: The directive would need to be seamlessly integrated with the Jupyter Book build process, ensuring that galleries are generated correctly as part of the documentation build.

These implementation steps highlight the technical challenges involved in creating a robust and feature-rich gallery directive. Collaboration between the Jupyter Book and MyST Markdown communities would be crucial to ensure a successful implementation.

Use Cases and Applications

The {gallery} directive would be beneficial in a wide range of scenarios, particularly for projects that involve a collection of tutorials, recipes, or examples. Here are some specific use cases:

  • Tutorial Collections: Projects like numpy-tutorials could use the directive to present a gallery of tutorials, making it easier for users to find and follow them.
  • Recipe Books: Documentation for libraries or frameworks could include galleries of code recipes, showcasing different ways to use the API.
  • Example Notebooks: Projects that provide example notebooks could use the directive to create a visual index of the notebooks, allowing users to quickly browse and explore the examples.
  • API Documentation: Galleries could be used to showcase different aspects of an API, with each thumbnail representing a specific function or class.
  • Case Studies: Documentation for products or services could include galleries of case studies, highlighting successful implementations.

These use cases demonstrate the versatility of the {gallery} directive and its potential to enhance the presentation of documentation across various domains.

Conclusion

The feature request for a {gallery} directive in Jupyter Book and MyST Markdown represents a significant opportunity to improve the user experience of documentation websites. By providing a simple and intuitive way to create thumbnail galleries, the directive would make it easier for users to browse and discover content, particularly in projects that involve a collection of tutorials, recipes, or examples. While the implementation of such a directive presents technical challenges, the benefits it offers in terms of usability and visual appeal make it a worthwhile endeavor. This pie-in-the-sky request, while not critical, could significantly enhance the overall quality and accessibility of documentation generated with Jupyter Book and MyST Markdown.

To further explore the concepts and best practices of documentation galleries, you might find it helpful to visit Read the Docs, a popular platform for hosting documentation and a valuable resource for learning more about documentation best practices.