[Python-modules-team] Bug#473585: Bug #473585: python-docutils: Handle CSS for rst2html as configuration file

[Robert Hunger]

Simon McVittie <smcv at debian.org> wrote on 2008-07-19T03:19:34+0100:
> you're essentially proposing that docutils' output become
> dependent on the (configuration of the) machine it's run on.

and on the user account it's run.
 
> This seems inappropriate for what's basically a (specialized)
> compiler (it's used in the build process of several Debian
> packages, for instance, including at least one of mine).

IMHO when you want a special configuration (e.g. the default
configuration) i think it's better to explicitly state this in
the build procedure (especially for a package).

> The docutils rst2html command seems to me as though it ought
> to take input (options and source) and produce output, with
> the output being generated deterministically from the input
> (rather than from the input plus some details of the
> environment in which it's run).

There are many other programs that fit in this category e.g.
html2ps, pdfto{ps,text}, gcc, ... Nevertheless, most of these
programs allow custom settings in configuration files and/or
environment variables (e.g. ~/.html2psrc, {/etc/xpdf/xpdfrc,
~/.xpdfrc}, {C_INCLUDE_PATH,GCC_EXEC_PREFIX,COMPILER_PATH})

> I tend to write a Makefile whenever I have more than one rst
> file in a project, which automates further.

Me too, but I would like to have a personal and machine wide
default.

Robert