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Re: [platform-help-dev] Allow environment variables in hrefs in toc files

The following URL contains info about the links mechanism, but you'll have
to probably find the right section in the document:
http://dev.eclipse.org:8080/help/content/help:/org.eclipse.platform.doc.isv/reference/misc/eclipse-install.html.
Eclipse will take care of extending its plugins with those specified in the
other "linked" eclipse, so you will probably have to dynamically create the
entry in the links file so that it points to the appropriate location on
the file system.

Yes, you will have to use the url handler extension point, but there will
have to be some code added to the help system to make use of it.
I think you'll have to change the HrefUtils.normalizeHref() as well as
org.eclipse.help.internal.webapp.servlet.EclipseConnector.transfer().

-Dorian



|---------+----------------------------------->
|         |           Mary Kroening           |
|         |           <mary@xxxxxxxx>         |
|         |           Sent by:                |
|         |           platform-help-dev-admin@|
|         |           eclipse.org             |
|         |                                   |
|         |                                   |
|         |           03/17/2003 03:09 PM     |
|         |           Please respond to       |
|         |           platform-help-dev       |
|         |                                   |
|---------+----------------------------------->
  >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
  |                                                                                                             |
  |       To:       platform-help-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx, platform-help-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx                                |
  |       cc:       platform-help-dev@xxxxxxxxxxx, platform-help-dev-admin@xxxxxxxxxxx                          |
  |       Subject:  Re: [platform-help-dev] Allow environment variables in hrefs  in toc files                  |
  |                                                                                                             |
  |                                                                                                             |
  >-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|



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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