# Litterate Python Implementation - Summary

## Overview

Successfully ported the [Litterate](https://github.com/thesephist/litterate) JavaScript tool to Python as a complete, modern package managed with pixi.

## What Was Built

A fully functional Python CLI tool that generates beautiful literate programming-style documentation from annotated source code.

### Key Features

✅ **Complete Python Port**: All functionality from the original JavaScript version
✅ **Pixi Package Management**: Modern, reproducible development environment
✅ **CLI Tool**: Full command-line interface with all original options
✅ **Template System**: Jinja2-based templating (upgraded from simple string replacement)
✅ **Test Suite**: Comprehensive pytest-based tests
✅ **Documentation**: Generated its own literate documentation
✅ **Code Quality**: Passes all linting checks with ruff

## Project Structure

```
litterate/
├── pyproject.toml           # Python package metadata
├── pixi.toml                # Pixi configuration and dependencies
├── LICENSE                  # MIT License
├── README.md                # Comprehensive usage documentation
├── litterate.config.py      # Example configuration file
├── .gitignore              # Git ignore rules
├── src/litterate/          # Main package source
│   ├── __init__.py         # Package initialization
│   ├── cli.py              # CLI entry point (~170 lines)
│   ├── generator.py        # Core documentation generation (~233 lines)
│   ├── defaults.py         # Default configuration
│   └── templates/          # HTML/CSS templates
│       ├── index.html      # Index page template
│       ├── source.html     # Source file page template
│       └── main.css        # Styles
├── tests/                  # Test suite
│   └── test_litterate.py   # Pytest tests (13 tests, all passing)
└── docs/                   # Generated documentation
    ├── index.html
    ├── main.css
    └── src/litterate/*.html
```

## Technical Implementation

### Dependencies

**Core:**
- Python ≥3.11
- markdown ≥3.5 (replaces `marked`)
- jinja2 ≥3.1 (template engine)
- click ≥8.1 (CLI framework, replaces `minimist`)

**Development:**
- pytest ≥7.4
- ruff ≥0.1

### Key Modules

#### 1. **cli.py** (Command-Line Interface)
- Argument parsing with Click
- Configuration file loading (supports both `.py` and `.json`)
- Config merging (defaults → file → CLI args)
- Glob pattern expansion
- Entry point for the `litterate` command

#### 2. **generator.py** (Core Logic)
- `generate_litterate_pages()` - Main entry point
- `lines_to_line_pairs()` - Parse annotations from source code
- `create_and_save_page()` - Process individual files
- `populate_index_page()` - Generate index.html
- Helper functions for HTML encoding, line wrapping, path handling

#### 3. **defaults.py** (Configuration)
- Default configuration dictionary
- Python-first defaults (`.py` files, `#>` annotation marker)
- All configurable options documented

### Python-Specific Adaptations

1. **Type Hints**: Modern Python type annotations throughout
2. **pathlib**: Used `Path` instead of string paths for better path handling
3. **Jinja2**: More robust templating vs. simple regex replacement
4. **Click**: Better CLI framework with automatic help generation
5. **Synchronous I/O**: Simpler than Node.js callbacks for CLI context
6. **html.escape()**: Built-in HTML encoding
7. **Config Files**: Support both Python dictionaries and JSON

## Testing

### Test Coverage
- ✅ 13 tests, all passing
- ✅ HTML encoding
- ✅ Line wrapping
- ✅ Annotation parsing
- ✅ Configuration defaults
- ✅ Path generation

### Running Tests
```bash
pixi run test        # Run test suite
pixi run lint        # Run linter
pixi run fmt         # Format code
pixi run docs        # Generate documentation
```

## Usage Examples

### Basic Usage
```bash
# Install dependencies
pixi install

# Generate docs with defaults
pixi run litterate

# With configuration file
pixi run litterate --config litterate.config.py

# With CLI options
pixi run litterate -n "My Project" -o ./output/ src/**/*.py
```

### Configuration File Example
```python
# litterate.config.py
name = "My Project"
description = "Project description with **Markdown** support"
files = ["./src/**/*.py"]
baseURL = "/my-project"
output_directory = "./docs/"
annotation_start_mark = "#>"
annotation_continue_mark = "#"
```

### Annotation Syntax
```python
#> This is a literate annotation.
#  It can span multiple lines.
#  **Markdown** formatting is supported!

def hello_world():
    # Regular comments are ignored
    print("Hello, World!")
```

## Installation Options

### 1. From Source (Development)
```bash
git clone <repo>
cd litterate
pixi install
pixi shell
litterate --help
```

### 2. Global Installation (Planned)
```bash
pixi global install litterate
litterate --help
```

## Differences from Original

### Improvements
- ✅ Modern Python type hints
- ✅ Better template engine (Jinja2 vs regex)
- ✅ Comprehensive test suite
- ✅ Better error handling
- ✅ Support for both `.py` and `.json` config files
- ✅ Reproducible environment with pixi

### Configuration Changes
- Default annotation marker: `#>` (Python-style) instead of `//>` (JavaScript)
- Default file pattern: `./src/**/*.py` instead of `./src/**/*.js`
- Config key: `output_directory` instead of `outputDirectory` (Pythonic)

## Verification

### All Systems Working ✅

1. **Installation**: `pixi install` - ✅ Success
2. **Tests**: `pixi run test` - ✅ 13/13 passing
3. **Linting**: `pixi run lint` - ✅ All checks passed
4. **CLI**: `litterate --help` - ✅ Full help output
5. **Documentation Generation**: `pixi run docs` - ✅ Generated 5 files
6. **Output Verification**: `docs/` directory created with valid HTML

## Next Steps

### For Users
1. Read the README.md for usage instructions
2. Run `pixi install` to set up the environment
3. Create a `litterate.config.py` for your project
4. Run `pixi run litterate --config litterate.config.py`
5. View the generated docs in the `docs/` directory

### For Development
1. Add more test coverage
2. Add shell completions (bash/zsh/fish)
3. Create GitHub Actions workflow
4. Publish to conda-forge for easy `pixi global install`
5. Add support for more languages (custom syntax highlighting)

## Performance Notes

- Fast startup (no node_modules overhead)
- Synchronous I/O is adequate for CLI use
- Jinja2 template compilation happens once at import time
- Glob expansion is efficient with Python's built-in `glob` module

## Compatibility

- ✅ macOS (tested)
- ✅ Linux (should work)
- ✅ Windows (should work, paths handled with pathlib)
- ✅ Python 3.11+
- ✅ All major shells (bash, zsh, fish)

## License

MIT License - Same as the original project

## Acknowledgments

Original concept and implementation by [Linus Lee](https://github.com/thesephist). This is a faithful Python port maintaining all functionality while leveraging Python's modern ecosystem.
