[MarryDoc] Easy DocString Maintenance

The marrydoc Python module makes maintaining consistency of related Python docstrings easy. marrydoc provides decorators to “wed” a docstring to another and provides a command line tool to automatically update a module’s docstrings when their basis docstrings have changed.

The decorators offered annotate class, function, and method docstrings to identify if their docstring is to be inherited from, maintained as a copy of, or maintained as a modified copy of a docstring of another program construct.

Quick Start

@inherit

Use the inherit() decorator to dynamically copy a docstring from one program construct to another when a module is imported. For example:

import marrydoc
from foo import bar

@marrydoc.inherit(bar)
def my_bar():
    pass

assert bar.__doc__ == my_bar.__doc__

@copied_from

Use the copied_from() decorator in combination with the command line tool to evaluate if one program construct docstring is up to date with another and automatically update the script if they are unequal. For example:

import marrydoc
from foo import bar

@marrydoc.copied_from(bar)
def my_bar():
    """Perform foo bar."""
    pass

Then use the command line tool to evaluate if the source docstring has changed and automatically update if so:

$ python -m marrydoc --merge my_foo.py
my_foo.py ... OK

@based_on

Use the based_on() decorator instead of copied_from() when the docstring is a copy but has been modified. Pass an unmodified copy of the source docstring as the second argument to based_on() (to facilitate source docstring change detection and provide a basis of a three way merge). For example:

import marrydoc
from foo import bar

@marrydoc.based_on(
    bar,
    """Perform foo bar.""")
def my_bar():
    """Perform my special foo bar."""
    pass

Then use the command line tool to evaluate if the source docstring has changed and automatically perform a three way merge if so:

$ python -m marrydoc --merge my_foo.py
my_foo.py ... UPDATED