Sphinx-testify

sphinx-testify is an extension to the Sphinx documentation generator, that enables building testified documentation and, ultimately living documentation.

Testified documentation in a nutshell

Testified documentation means that the documentation source references test results, and these references are verified during the build process. As a result, we can keep every paragraph even every sentence of the documentation aligned with the code, as long as there is a test that "testifies" the described behaviour.

A simple example

Imagine you're working on a system access module. Even before writing any tests or code, you can briefly document the expected behavior and reference the (to-be-created) tests. Proceed with a TDD cycle, and once all the tests and implementation are ready, you’ll have testified and living documentation.

Here's how it looks like in a reStructuredText document:

   System access
   =============

   Only a user with valid credentials: a username and a password can access
   the system. If credentials are wrong, the system returns "Authentication failed"
   error message.

   .. testify::
      test_a_user_can_access_system_with_username_and_password
      test_system_returns_authentication_failed_error_when_username_is_not_found
      test_system_returns_authentication_failed_error_when_password_is_wrong

A full example

You practice what you preach. It would be hypocritical to develop sphinx-testify in a way different from what is described above. What it means is that the documentation to the library is testified! Everything you need for a real-world example is in the same repository.

Installation

pip install sphinx-testify

Links

Code: https://github.com/BasicWolf/sphinx-testify
Docs: https://sphinx-testify.readthedocs.io/en/latest/

License

GPLv3