diff --git a/src/rustdoc-internals.md b/src/rustdoc-internals.md
index c35f01549..96928c9d0 100644
--- a/src/rustdoc-internals.md
+++ b/src/rustdoc-internals.md
@@ -1,88 +1,104 @@
-# Rustdoc internals
+# Rustdoc Internals
-This page describes rustdoc's passes and modes. For an overview of rustdoc,
+This page describes [`rustdoc`]'s passes and modes. For an overview of `rustdoc`,
see the ["Rustdoc overview" chapter](./rustdoc.md).
-## From crate to clean
+[`rustdoc`]: https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/tree/master/src/tools/rustdoc
-In `core.rs` are two central items: the `DocContext` struct, and the
-`run_global_ctxt` function. The latter is where rustdoc calls out to rustc to
-compile a crate to the point where rustdoc can take over. The former is a state
-container used when crawling through a crate to gather its documentation.
+## From Crate to Clean
-The main process of crate crawling is done in `clean/mod.rs` through several
+In [`core.rs`] are two central items: the [`rustdoc::core::DocContext`]
+`struct`, and the [`rustdoc::core::run_global_ctxt`] function. The latter is
+where `rustdoc` calls out to `rustc` to compile a crate to the point where
+`rustdoc` can take over. The former is a state container used when crawling
+through a crate to gather its documentation.
+
+The main process of crate crawling is done in [`clean/mod.rs`] through several
functions with names that start with `clean_`. Each function accepts an `hir`
-or `ty` data structure, and outputs a `clean` structure used by rustdoc. For
-example, this function for converting lifetimes:
+or `ty` data structure, and outputs a `clean` structure used by `rustdoc`. For
+example, [this function for converting lifetimes]:
```rust,ignore
fn clean_lifetime<'tcx>(lifetime: &hir::Lifetime, cx: &mut DocContext<'tcx>) -> Lifetime {
- let def = cx.tcx.named_bound_var(lifetime.hir_id);
if let Some(
- rbv::ResolvedArg::EarlyBound(node_id)
- | rbv::ResolvedArg::LateBound(_, _, node_id)
- | rbv::ResolvedArg::Free(_, node_id),
- ) = def
+ rbv::ResolvedArg::EarlyBound(did)
+ | rbv::ResolvedArg::LateBound(_, _, did)
+ | rbv::ResolvedArg::Free(_, did),
+ ) = cx.tcx.named_bound_var(lifetime.hir_id)
+ && let Some(lt) = cx.args.get(&did).and_then(|arg| arg.as_lt())
{
- if let Some(lt) = cx.args.get(&node_id).and_then(|p| p.as_lt()).cloned() {
- return lt;
- }
+ return lt.clone();
}
Lifetime(lifetime.ident.name)
}
```
-`clean/mod.rs` also defines the types for the "cleaned" AST used later on to
-render documentation pages. Each usually accompanies a `clean` function
-that takes some AST or HIR type from rustc and converts it into the
+Also, `clean/mod.rs` defines the types for the "cleaned" [Abstract Syntax Tree
+(`AST`)][ast] used later to render documentation pages. Each usually accompanies a
+`clean_*` function that takes some [`AST`][ast] or [High-Level Intermediate
+Representation (`HIR`)][hir] type from `rustc` and converts it into the
appropriate "cleaned" type. "Big" items like modules or associated items may
-have some extra processing in its `clean` function, but for the most part
-these impls are straightforward conversions. The "entry point" to this module
-is `clean::krate`, which is called by
-`run_global_ctxt` above.
+have some extra processing in its `clean` function, but for the most part these
+`impl`s are straightforward conversions. The "entry point" to this module is
+[`clean::utils::krate`][ck0], which is called by [`run_global_ctxt`].
-The first step in `clean::krate` is to invoke `visit_ast::RustdocVisitor` to
-process the module tree into an intermediate `visit_ast::Module`. This is the
-step that actually crawls the `rustc_hir::Crate`, normalizing various aspects
-of name resolution, such as:
+The first step in [`clean::utils::krate`][ck1] is to invoke
+[`visit_ast::RustdocVisitor`] to process the module tree into an intermediate
+[`visit_ast::Module`]. This is the step that actually crawls the
+[`rustc_hir::Crate`], normalizing various aspects of name resolution, such as:
- * showing `#[macro_export]`-ed macros at the crate root, regardless of where
- they're defined
- * inlining public `use` exports of private items, or showing a "Reexport"
- line in the module page
- * inlining items with `#[doc(hidden)]` if the base item is hidden but the
- reexport is not
* handling `#[doc(inline)]` and `#[doc(no_inline)]`
* handling import globs and cycles, so there are no duplicates or infinite
directory trees
+ * inlining public `use` exports of private items, or showing a "Reexport"
+ line in the module page
+ * inlining items with `#[doc(hidden)]` if the base item is hidden but the
+ * showing `#[macro_export]`-ed macros at the crate root, regardless of where
+ they're defined reexport is not
-After this step, `clean::krate` invokes `clean_doc_module`, which actually
-converts the HIR items to the cleaned AST. This is also the step where cross-
+After this step, `clean::krate` invokes [`clean_doc_module`], which actually
+converts the `HIR` items to the cleaned [`AST`][ast]. This is also the step where cross-
crate inlining is performed, which requires converting `rustc_middle` data
-structures into the cleaned AST instead.
+structures into the cleaned [`AST`][ast].
The other major thing that happens in `clean/mod.rs` is the collection of doc
-comments and `#[doc=""]` attributes into a separate field of the Attributes
-struct, present on anything that gets hand-written documentation. This makes it
+comments and `#[doc=""]` attributes into a separate field of the [`Attributes`]
+`struct`, present on anything that gets hand-written documentation. This makes it
easier to collect this documentation later in the process.
-The primary output of this process is a `clean::Crate` with a tree of Items
+The primary output of this process is a [`clean::types::Crate`] with a tree of [`Item`]s
which describe the publicly-documentable items in the target crate.
-### Passes anything but a gas station
-
-(alternate title: [hot potato](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNFBIt5HxdY))
+[`Attributes`]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/nightly/nightly-rustc/rustdoc/clean/types/struct.Attributes.html
+[`clean_doc_module`]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/nightly/nightly-rustc/rustdoc/clean/fn.clean_doc_module.html
+[`clean::types::Crate`]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/nightly/nightly-rustc/rustdoc/clean/types/struct.Crate.html
+[`clean/mod.rs`]: https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/blob/master/src/librustdoc/clean/mod.rs
+[`core.rs`]: https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/blob/master/src/librustdoc/core.rs
+[`Item`]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/nightly/nightly-rustc/rustdoc/clean/types/struct.Item.html
+[`run_global_ctxt`]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/nightly/nightly-rustc/rustdoc/core/fn.run_global_ctxt.html
+[`rustc_hir::Crate`]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/nightly/nightly-rustc/rustc_hir/struct.Crate.html
+[`rustdoc::core::DocContext`]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/nightly/nightly-rustc/rustdoc/core/struct.DocContext.html
+[`rustdoc::core::run_global_ctxt`]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/nightly/nightly-rustc/rustdoc/core/fn.run_global_ctxt.html
+[`visit_ast::Module`]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/nightly/nightly-rustc/rustdoc/visit_ast/struct.Module.html
+[`visit_ast::RustdocVisitor`]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/nightly/nightly-rustc/rustdoc/visit_ast/struct.RustdocVisitor.html
+[ast]: ./ast-validation.md
+[ck0]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/nightly/nightly-rustc/rustdoc/clean/utils/fn.krate.html#
+[ck1]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/nightly/nightly-rustc/src/rustdoc/clean/utils.rs.html#31-77
+[hir]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/nightly/nightly-rustc/rustc_hir/index.html
+[this function for converting lifetimes]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/nightly/nightly-rustc/src/rustdoc/clean/mod.rs.html#256-267
+
+### Passes Anything But a Gas Station (or: [Hot Potato](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNFBIt5HxdY))
Before moving on to the next major step, a few important "passes" occur over
-the cleaned AST. Several of these passes are lints and reports, but some of
+the cleaned [`AST`][ast]. Several of these passes are `lint`s and reports, but some of
them mutate or generate new items.
-These are all implemented in the `passes/` directory, one file per pass.
+These are all implemented in the [`librustdoc/passes`] directory, one file per pass.
By default, all of these passes are run on a crate, but the ones
regarding dropping private/hidden items can be bypassed by passing
-`--document-private-items` to rustdoc. Note that unlike the previous set of AST
+`--document-private-items` to `rustdoc`. Note that unlike the previous set of [`AST`][ast]
transformations, the passes are run on the _cleaned_ crate.
Here is the list of passes as of March 2023:
@@ -90,30 +106,30 @@ Here is the list of passes as of March 2023:
- `calculate-doc-coverage` calculates information used for the `--show-coverage`
flag.
-- `check-doc-test-visibility` runs doctest visibility–related lints. This pass
+- `check-doc-test-visibility` runs `doctest` visibility–related `lint`s. This pass
runs before `strip-private`, which is why it needs to be separate from
`run-lints`.
- `collect-intra-doc-links` resolves [intra-doc links](https://doc.rust-lang.org/nightly/rustdoc/write-documentation/linking-to-items-by-name.html).
-- `collect-trait-impls` collects trait impls for each item in the crate. For
- example, if we define a struct that implements a trait, this pass will note
- that the struct implements that trait.
+- `collect-trait-impls` collects `trait` `impl`s for each item in the crate. For
+ example, if we define a `struct` that implements a `trait`, this pass will note
+ that the `struct` implements that `trait`.
- `propagate-doc-cfg` propagates `#[doc(cfg(...))]` to child items.
-- `run-lints` runs some of rustdoc's lints, defined in `passes/lint`. This is
+- `run-lints` runs some of `rustdoc`'s `lint`s, defined in `passes/lint`. This is
the last pass to run.
- `bare_urls` detects links that are not linkified, e.g., in Markdown such as
`Go to https://example.com/.` It suggests wrapping the link with angle brackets:
`Go to .` to linkify it. This is the code behind the `rustdoc::bare_urls` lint.
+ date-check: may 2022 --> `rustdoc::bare_urls` `lint`.
- `check_code_block_syntax` validates syntax inside Rust code blocks
(```rust
)
- - `html_tags` detects invalid HTML (like an unclosed ``)
+ - `html_tags` detects invalid `HTML` (like an unclosed ``)
in doc comments.
- `strip-hidden` and `strip-private` strip all `doc(hidden)` and private items
@@ -122,7 +138,7 @@ Here is the list of passes as of March 2023:
pass is skipped when `--document-hidden-items` is passed.
- `strip-priv-imports` strips all private import statements (`use`, `extern
- crate`) from a crate. This is necessary because rustdoc will handle *public*
+ crate`) from a crate. This is necessary because `rustdoc` will handle *public*
imports by either inlining the item's documentation to the module or creating
a "Reexports" section with the import in it. The pass ensures that all of
these imports are actually relevant to documentation. It is technically
@@ -132,152 +148,162 @@ Here is the list of passes as of March 2023:
- `strip-private` strips all private items from a crate which cannot be seen
externally. This pass is skipped when `--document-private-items` is passed.
-There is also a `stripper` module in `passes/`, but it is a collection of
-utility functions for the `strip-*` passes and is not a pass itself.
+There is also a [`stripper`] module in `librustdoc/passes`, but it is a
+collection of utility functions for the `strip-*` passes and is not a pass
+itself.
+
+[`librustdoc/passes`]: https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/tree/master/src/librustdoc/passes
+[`stripper`]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/nightly/nightly-rustc/rustdoc/passes/stripper/index.html
-## From clean to HTML
+## From Clean To HTML
-This is where the "second phase" in rustdoc begins. This phase primarily lives
-in the `formats/` and `html/` folders, and it all starts with
-`formats::run_format`. This code is responsible for setting up a type that
-`impl FormatRenderer`, which for HTML is [`Context`].
+This is where the "second phase" in `rustdoc` begins. This phase primarily lives
+in the [`librustdoc/formats`] and [`librustdoc/html`] folders, and it all starts with
+[`formats::renderer::run_format`]. This code is responsible for setting up a type that
+`impl FormatRenderer`, which for `HTML` is [`Context`].
This structure contains methods that get called by `run_format` to drive the
doc rendering, which includes:
* `init` generates `static.files`, as well as search index and `src/`
-* `item` generates the item HTML files themselves
+* `item` generates the item `HTML` files themselves
* `after_krate` generates other global resources like `all.html`
In `item`, the "page rendering" occurs, via a mixture of [Askama] templates
-and manual `write!()` calls, starting in `html/layout.rs`. The parts that have
+and manual `write!()` calls, starting in [`html/layout.rs`]. The parts that have
not been converted to templates occur within a series of `std::fmt::Display`
implementations and functions that pass around a `&mut std::fmt::Formatter`.
-The parts that actually generate HTML from the items and documentation start
-with `print_item` defined in `html/render/print_item.rs`, which switches out
+The parts that actually generate `HTML` from the items and documentation start
+with [`print_item`] defined in [`html/render/print_item.rs`], which switches out
to one of several `item_*` functions based on kind of `Item` being rendered.
Depending on what kind of rendering code you're looking for, you'll probably
-find it either in `html/render/mod.rs` for major items like "what sections
-should I print for a struct page" or `html/format/mod.rs` for smaller
-component pieces like "how should I print a where clause as part of some other item".
+find it either in [`html/render/mod.rs`] for major items like "what sections
+should I print for a `struct` page" or [`html/format.rs`] for smaller component
+pieces like "how should I print a where clause as part of some other item".
-Whenever rustdoc comes across an item that should print hand-written
-documentation alongside, it calls out to `html/markdown.rs` which interfaces
+Whenever `rustdoc` comes across an item that should print hand-written
+documentation alongside, it calls out to [`html/markdown.rs`] which interfaces
with the Markdown parser. This is exposed as a series of types that wrap a
-string of Markdown, and implement `fmt::Display` to emit HTML text. It takes
+string of Markdown, and implement `fmt::Display` to emit `HTML` text. It takes
special care to enable certain features like footnotes and tables and add
syntax highlighting to Rust code blocks (via `html/highlight.rs`) before
-running the Markdown parser. There's also a function in here
-(`find_testable_code`) that specifically scans for Rust code blocks so the
-test-runner code can find all the doctests in the crate.
-
+running the Markdown parser. There's also a function [`find_codes`] which is
+called by `find_testable_codes` that specifically scans for Rust code blocks so
+the test-runner code can find all the `doctest`s in the crate.
+
+[`find_codes`]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/nightly/nightly-rustc/src/rustdoc/html/markdown.rs.html#749-818
+[`formats::renderer::run_format`]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/nightly/nightly-rustc/rustdoc/formats/renderer/fn.run_format.html
+[`html/format.rs`]: https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/blob/master/src/librustdoc/html/format.rs
+[`html/layout.rs`]: https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/blob/master/src/librustdoc/html/layout.rs
+[`html/markdown.rs`]: https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/blob/master/src/librustdoc/html/markdown.rs
+[`html/render/mod.rs`]: https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/blob/master/src/librustdoc/html/render/mod.rs
+[`html/render/print_item.rs`]: https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/blob/master/src/librustdoc/html/render/print_item.rs
+[`librustdoc/formats`]: https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/tree/master/src/librustdoc/formats
+[`librustdoc/html`]: https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/tree/master/src/librustdoc/html
+[`print_item`]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/nightly/nightly-rustc/rustdoc/html/render/print_item/fn.print_item.html
[Askama]: https://docs.rs/askama/latest/askama/
-### From soup to nuts
-
-(alternate title: ["An unbroken thread that stretches from those first `Cell`s
-to us"][video])
+### From Soup to Nuts (or: ["An Unbroken Thread Stretches From Those First `Cell`s To Us"][video])
[video]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOLAGYmUQV0
-It's important to note that rustdoc can ask the compiler for type information
-directly, even during HTML generation. This [didn't used to be the case], and
-a lot of rustdoc's architecture was designed around not doing that, but a
+It's important to note that `rustdoc` can ask the compiler for type information
+directly, even during `HTML` generation. This [didn't used to be the case], and
+a lot of `rustdoc`'s architecture was designed around not doing that, but a
`TyCtxt` is now passed to `formats::renderer::run_format`, which is used to
-run generation for both HTML and the
+run generation for both `HTML` and the
(unstable as of March 2023) JSON format.
-[didn't used to be the case]: https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/pull/80090
-
-This change has allowed other changes to remove data from the "clean" AST
+This change has allowed other changes to remove data from the "clean" [`AST`][ast]
that can be easily derived from `TyCtxt` queries, and we'll usually accept
PRs that remove fields from "clean" (it's been soft-deprecated), but this
-is complicated from two other constraints that rustdoc runs under:
+is complicated from two other constraints that `rustdoc` runs under:
* Docs can be generated for crates that don't actually pass type checking.
This is used for generating docs that cover mutually-exclusive platform
configurations, such as `libstd` having a single package of docs that
- cover all supported operating systems. This means rustdoc has to be able
- to generate docs from HIR.
-* Docs can inline across crates. Since crate metadata doesn't contain HIR,
+ cover all supported operating systems. This means `rustdoc` has to be able
+ to generate docs from `HIR`.
+* Docs can inline across crates. Since crate metadata doesn't contain `HIR`,
it must be possible to generate inlined docs from the `rustc_middle` data.
-The "clean" AST acts as a common output format for both input formats. There
-is also some data in clean that doesn't correspond directly to HIR, such as
+The "clean" [`AST`][ast] acts as a common output format for both input formats. There
+is also some data in clean that doesn't correspond directly to `HIR`, such as
synthetic `impl`s for auto traits and blanket `impl`s generated by the
`collect-trait-impls` pass.
Some additional data is stored in
`html::render::context::{Context, SharedContext}`. These two types serve as
-ways to segregate rustdoc's data for an eventual future with multithreaded doc
+ways to segregate `rustdoc`'s data for an eventual future with multithreaded doc
generation, as well as just keeping things organized:
* [`Context`] stores data used for generating the current page, such as its
- path, a list of HTML IDs that have been used (to avoid duplicate `id=""`),
+ path, a list of `HTML` IDs that have been used (to avoid duplicate `id=""`),
and the pointer to `SharedContext`.
* [`SharedContext`] stores data that does not vary by page, such as the `tcx`
pointer, and a list of all types.
[`Context`]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/nightly/nightly-rustc/rustdoc/html/render/context/struct.Context.html
+[didn't used to be the case]: https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/pull/80090
[`SharedContext`]: https://doc.rust-lang.org/nightly/nightly-rustc/rustdoc/html/render/context/struct.SharedContext.html
-## Other tricks up its sleeve
+## Other Tricks Up Its Sleeve
-All this describes the process for generating HTML documentation from a Rust
-crate, but there are couple other major modes that rustdoc runs in. It can also
-be run on a standalone Markdown file, or it can run doctests on Rust code or
+All this describes the process for generating `HTML` documentation from a Rust
+crate, but there are couple other major modes that `rustdoc` runs in. It can also
+be run on a standalone Markdown file, or it can run `doctest`s on Rust code or
standalone Markdown files. For the former, it shortcuts straight to
`html/markdown.rs`, optionally including a mode which inserts a Table of
-Contents to the output HTML.
+Contents to the output `HTML`.
-For the latter, rustdoc runs a similar partial-compilation to get relevant
+For the latter, `rustdoc` runs a similar partial-compilation to get relevant
documentation in `test.rs`, but instead of going through the full clean and
render process, it runs a much simpler crate walk to grab *just* the
hand-written documentation. Combined with the aforementioned
"`find_testable_code`" in `html/markdown.rs`, it builds up a collection of
-tests to run before handing them off to the test runner. One notable
-location in `test.rs` is the function `make_test`, which is where hand-written
-doctests get transformed into something that can be executed.
+tests to run before handing them off to the test runner. One notable location
+in `test.rs` is the function `make_test`, which is where hand-written
+`doctest`s get transformed into something that can be executed.
Some extra reading about `make_test` can be found
[here](https://quietmisdreavus.net/code/2018/02/23/how-the-doctests-get-made/).
-## Dotting i's and crossing t's
+## Dotting i's And Crossing t's
-So that's rustdoc's code in a nutshell, but there's more things in the repo
-that deal with it. Since we have the full `compiletest` suite at hand, there's
-a set of tests in `tests/rustdoc` that make sure the final HTML is what we
-expect in various situations. These tests also use a supplementary script,
-`src/etc/htmldocck.py`, that allows it to look through the final HTML using
-XPath notation to get a precise look at the output. The full description of all
-the commands available to rustdoc tests (e.g. [`@has`] and [`@matches`]) is in
-[`htmldocck.py`].
+So that's `rustdoc`'s code in a nutshell, but there's more things in the
+compiler that deal with it. Since we have the full `compiletest` suite at hand,
+there's a set of tests in `tests/rustdoc` that make sure the final `HTML` is
+what we expect in various situations. These tests also use a supplementary
+script, `src/etc/htmldocck.py`, that allows it to look through the final `HTML`
+using `XPath` notation to get a precise look at the output. The full
+description of all the commands available to `rustdoc` tests (e.g. [`@has`] and
+[`@matches`]) is in [`htmldocck.py`].
-To use multiple crates in a rustdoc test, add `// aux-build:filename.rs`
+To use multiple crates in a `rustdoc` test, add `// aux-build:filename.rs`
to the top of the test file. `filename.rs` should be placed in an `auxiliary`
directory relative to the test file with the comment. If you need to build
docs for the auxiliary file, use `// build-aux-docs`.
-In addition, there are separate tests for the search index and rustdoc's
+In addition, there are separate tests for the search index and `rustdoc`'s
ability to query it. The files in `tests/rustdoc-js` each contain a
different search query and the expected results, broken out by search tab.
-These files are processed by a script in `src/tools/rustdoc-js` and the Node.js
+These files are processed by a script in `src/tools/rustdoc-js` and the `Node.js`
runtime. These tests don't have as thorough of a writeup, but a broad example
that features results in all tabs can be found in `basic.js`. The basic idea is
that you match a given `QUERY` with a set of `EXPECTED` results, complete with
the full item path of each item.
-[`htmldocck.py`]: https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/blob/master/src/etc/htmldocck.py
[`@has`]: https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/blob/master/src/etc/htmldocck.py#L39
[`@matches`]: https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/blob/master/src/etc/htmldocck.py#L44
+[`htmldocck.py`]: https://github.com/rust-lang/rust/blob/master/src/etc/htmldocck.py
-## Testing locally
+## Testing Locally
-Some features of the generated HTML documentation might require local
-storage to be used across pages, which doesn't work well without an HTTP
-server. To test these features locally, you can run a local HTTP server, like
+Some features of the generated `HTML` documentation might require local
+storage to be used across pages, which doesn't work well without an `HTTP`
+server. To test these features locally, you can run a local `HTTP` server, like
this:
```bash
@@ -287,9 +313,9 @@ $ python3 -m http.server -d build/[YOUR ARCH]/doc
```
Now you can browse your documentation just like you would if it was hosted
-on the internet. For example, the url for `std` will be `/std/".
+on the internet. For example, the url for `std` will be `rust/std/`.
-## See also
+## See Also
- The [`rustdoc` api docs]
- [An overview of `rustdoc`](./rustdoc.md)