# ![Dreaming of integrated documentation](assets/icons8-ask-question-100.png) MkDocs semiliterate Plugin This plugin for [MkDocs](http://mkdocs.org) is an extension of Allison Thackston's excellent [mkdocs-simple-plugin](https://www.althack.dev/mkdocs-simple-plugin/). It allows you to include content from one file into another (via `{! ... !}` syntax), using exactly the same extraction specification that the `simple` plugin already uses for identifying documentation in source files. ## Rationale Time and trends have not validated Knuth's original vision of "literate programming" as a mainstream practice. Nevertheless, there remain significant advantages to incorporating all documentation, including user-guide-style narrative, into the source code for a project. These advantages include ease of maintenance and synchronization of code and documentation, and opportunities to make the ensemble of your code and documentation more DRY. Thus, it's worth using a "semiliterate" programming style, in which * code is arranged as dictated by best software engineering practices * documentation is co-located in the same files next to the implementing code * and tools are provided for extracting and assembling that documentation into readable form. *[DRY]: Don't Repeat Yourself -- a coding philosophy of creating a single authoritative location for each piece of information. The `simple` plugin goes a long way toward creating a semiliterate programming environment. However, in creating narrative documentation, it's very useful to be able to quote or incorporate content --- whether that be documentation blocks or code examples or code that itself serves as documentation to avoid repeating information --- from one file into another. To satisfy that need, this `semiliterate` plugin extends (i.e, literally inherits from) the `simple` plugin and adds a syntax for such inclusion. With a few other small ease-of-use tweaks (documented in the [Usage](http://studioinfinity.org/semiliterate/mkdocs_semiliterate/plugin) section), this extended plugin aims to produce a lightweight but comprehensive semiliterate programming environment. The [documentation site](http://studioinfinity.org/semiliterate) is, of course, produced by MkDocs using the semiliterate plugin. ## Installation The mkdocs-semiliterate package which provides the `semiliterate` plugin for MkDocs is available via PyPI: `python3 -m pip install mkdocs-semiliterate` or of course if your `pip` is already set up to use a Python 3.5 (or later) installation, just `pip install mkdocs-semiliterate` ## License and Acknowledgments This software is licensed under [Apache 2.0](LICENSE). [Icons8](https://icons8.com/icon/115368/ask-question) provided the icon.