Template talk:Documentation

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Template:Documentation is permanently protected from editing because it is a heavily used or highly visible template. Substantial changes should first be proposed and discussed here on this page. If the proposal is uncontroversial or has been discussed and is supported by consensus, editors may use {{edit template-protected}} to notify an administrator or template editor to make the requested edit. Usually, any contributor may edit the template's documentation to add usage notes or categories.

Any contributor may edit the template's sandbox. Functionality of the template can be checked using test cases.

To help centralize discussions and keep related topics together, all talk pages of subtemplates, and Module talk:Documentation, redirect here

Text has been copied to or from this page; see the list below. The source pages now serve to provide attribution for the content in the destination pages and must not be deleted as long as the copies exist. For attribution and to access older versions of the copied text, please see the history links below.

Copied Template:Documentation (oldid, history) → incubator:Template:Wp/nod/Documentation (diff)
Copied Template:Documentation (oldid, history) → incubator:Template:Wp/nod/documentation (diff)
Copied Module:Documentation/config (oldid, history) → incubator:Module:Wp/nod/Documentation/config (diff)

Link to run test cases

On module sandboxes, there is a message "See also the companion subpage for test cases (run)." and the "run" is a link to the talk page of the test cases, where the tests are executed. (I don't know where this message is produced because it does not seem to come from Template:Template sandbox notice.) I would like to propose that the run link be added to this module to appear next to the link to test cases, at the end of the documentation. — Martin (MSGJ · talk) 11:19, 4 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

@MSGJ, this already displays for me on modules in the metadata box (aka "the end of the documentation" box): Editors can experiment in this module's sandbox (edit | diff) and testcases (edit | run) pages.? Izno (talk) 21:26, 28 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Yes, I realised this later. I think I was looking at a module which had testcases in Module talk namespace but no unit tests in Module namespace. And the "run" link is not displayed in this case — Martin (MSGJ · talk) 07:46, 29 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

If the run link is a redlink, could it be modified to preload {{#invoke:{{PAGENAME}}|run_tests}} the same way that the testcases link preloads Template:Documentation/preload-module-testcases? --Ahecht (TALK
PAGE) 19:14, 14 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Template-protected edit request on 11 April 2024

This edit request to Module:Documentation has been answered. Set the |answered= or |ans= parameter to no to reactivate your request.

Please add the following lines to the top of the module:

local makeInvokeFunc = require("Module:MakeInvokeFunc")(p)

And then remove the explicit function definition for makeInvokeFunc from the module at line 94.

I created that module because it actually has a lot of potential for utility across modules. If an admin could also protect Module:MakeInvokeFunc to be template or full protected then it would address the concerns of "high risk". Awesome Aasim 19:00, 11 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Pause for now because there is one more thing I realize this module needs. Awesome Aasim 19:10, 11 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Okay reopening, but with modifications. Also do the same with local message = require("Module:Message")(cfg). These helper functions can be quite useful in other modules which is why I pulled them out. Also protect afterword. Awesome Aasim 22:56, 11 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Aren't you the same person who claimed only a few weeks ago that this module should never need to be edited? Anyway, I think this request simply makes things more complicated for no apparent benefit, so deactivating. There's no harm in a 15-line function that has never changed in years being duplicated in a few places. On top of that it isn't really that genericizable in the first place since each module uses a slightly different version to handle things like wrapper templates, whether to trim whitespace, etc. that vary from template to template. Deactivating. * Pppery * _{it has begun...} 02:37, 15 April 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Linking to Help:Template from documentation of templates

Moved from Template talk:High-use

– I hope moving this section here will generate more discussion and a more robust consensus for this idea from several weeks ago. A possible implementation of the proposed changes is still live in the sandbox, so interested editors can check the testcases for how it looks. —⁠andrybak (talk) 21:06, 14 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

When updating the documentation of {{citation needed}}, I realized that Template:Documentation doesn't have a link to Help:Template, which answers the question of 'what is a "template"?'. Wikilinking the word "Template" in the header "Template documentation" at the very top seems too disruptive (see Special:Diff/1231335346 and Template:Documentation/testcases#Documentation/sandbox). Template:Documentation does link to Wikipedia:Template documentation and Help:Transclusion, but at the very bottom, which is often not visible below the fold.

Newbies not familiar with templates are more likely to end up seeing documentation pages of high use templates. What if Template:High use linked to Help:Template and Wikipedia:Lua, as implemented in Special:Diff/1231332038? However, the banner text of Template:High use is aimed at implementors/editors of templates, who ought to be familiar with templates. —⁠andrybak (talk) 19:52, 27 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

One idea could be to add [help] alongside [view] [edit] [history] [purge] at the end. SWinxy (talk) 21:07, 27 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I think the help would be better placed directly after [history], but otherwise agree that might be a good solution. I'm thinking that a lot of mature template editors utilize [purge] on instinct as the last option in that list, and wouldn't want that replaced. Van Isaac, GHTV^cont_WpWS 21:55, 27 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

An implementation of SWinxy's idea would look something like this: main module and /config (I didn't update the corresponding code comments). With VanIsaac's suggestion: the purge link last in the list. Results are visible at Template:Documentation/testcases#Documentation/sandbox. —⁠andrybak (talk) 22:00, 27 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I notice that test case with "This is in line documentation." doesn't have any links at all. A [help] link there would be helpful as well. —⁠andrybak (talk) 22:02, 27 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I've implemented a hacky way of adding a [help] link to inline documentation. "Hacky", because there's already an if for "inline" vs "/doc subpage", which makes the separation of concerns between functions makeStartBoxLinksData and renderStartBoxLinks awkward. —⁠andrybak (talk) 22:12, 27 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I think a form like this ends up being pretty noisy, it's a link that gets put in with a bunch of page-specific links (so, cognitive dissonance for even the casual user), and help as the specific text doesn't make it clear how it's relevant to the specific page. Izno (talk) 17:08, 17 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Besides the criticism of the specifics, I think there's been some agreement that our "how to remove this link" additions in amboxes have not performed as expected. I don't think introing what a template is here is all that particularly helpful. Probably the modern way for someone to learn what one is is simply to google, which would probaby pop up Help:Template in short time. Izno (talk) 17:09, 17 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

I agree with both arguments: the header is too crowded, those who want to know will find the help pages. Consider my proposal withdrawn. —⁠andrybak (talk) 19:15, 20 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Sandbox documentation

The documentation often includes calls to the template as a way to demonstrate the output. When testing a change to the template in the sandbox, the sandbox template includes the live documentation which then displays the sample output from the live template. It is possible to clone the documentation under the sandbox and alter the sandbox template to be explicit about including the sandbox version of the documentation. This however has the danger that when the sandbox template is published to live, the documentation fudge will not be undone and the live template will end up with documentation showing the sandbox template. Setting up a testcase sub-page is probably the "correct" way around all this, but is there another / simpler way? Could this template test for being in the sandbox and default to the sandbox version of the documentation? — GhostInTheMachine ^{talk to me} 19:50, 20 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You should almost never need a sandbox page of documentation. If the documentation changes between versions, just update it when you sync the templates. If you want to test changes to how the template looks, that is what /testcases is for. Gonnym (talk) 11:02, 21 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I assumed so. It is just that having a sandbox version of the documentation allowed for a simple "live" preview during editing — GhostInTheMachine ^{talk to me} 11:33, 21 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

You can still do that with /testcases. At the bottom of a template in editing mode, you have "Preview page with this template", put the /testcases page there and you can view it with your changes without saving them. Gonnym (talk) 11:35, 21 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]

True, and I guess that setting up /testcases is probably simpler than creating /sandbox/doc. Kinder on the next editor too ... — GhostInTheMachine ^{talk to me} 11:39, 21 January 2025 (UTC)[reply]