.. image:: images/zenodo.8370310.svg
   :target: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.8370310
   :align: right

==========
pymetacode
==========

*A Python package helping to write and maintain Python packages.*

**Code that writes code** -- yes, that's correct. Automating the boring stuff, one could say, or helping to focus on the creative part of programming. In any case, the idea for this package stems from experience with a couple of Python projects, and as such it is pretty *opinionated*, focussing on personal needs regarding structure and layout. Nevertheless, it tries to be as user-friendly as possible, coming with an intuitive command-line interface (CLI).

Want to get an idea? Here you go. **Creating a new package** would be a two-step process:

1) Write a configuration file for your new package (and afterwards fill it with sensible content)

.. code-block:: bash

    pymeta write config to mypackage_config.yaml

2) Create the basic Python package structure for your package.

.. code-block:: bash

    pymeta create package from mypackage_config.yaml

Once you have your package structure, you can **add modules, classes, and functions** to your package from *within the package's root directory* at any time:

.. code-block:: bash

    pymeta add module mymodule
    pymeta add class MyClass to mymodule
    pymeta add function my_function to mymodule

If you ever want to add a **graphical user interface (GUI)** to your project, this is (now) possible as well:

.. code-block:: bash

    pymeta add gui
    pymeta add window mysubwindow
    pymeta add widget mywidget
    pymeta add dialog mydialog

See :doc:`usecases` for more examples. And now - happy coding!


Features
========

A list of features:

* Create initial package structure (directory layout, files)

* Add module, class, and function scaffolds to an existing project, including tests and API documentation

* Add initial (Qt) GUI subpackage structure (directory layout, files)

* Add (Qt) GUI window scaffolds to existing project, including tests and API documentation

* Intuitive command-line interface (CLI)

* Initialise git repository; automatically incrementing version number with each commit


And to make it even more convenient for users and future-proof:

* Open source project written in Python (>= 3.7)

* Developed fully test-driven

* Extensive user and API documentation


.. hint::

    Just in case you wondered: Yes, pymetacode is maintained using pymetacode itself.


Where to start
==============

Users new to the pymetacode package should probably start :doc:`at the beginning <audience>`, those interested in more real-world examples may jump straight to the section explaining frequent :doc:`use cases <usecases>`.

The :doc:`API documentation <api/index>` is the definite source of information for developers, besides having a look at the source code.


Installation
============

To install the pymetacode package on your computer (sensibly within a Python virtual environment), open a terminal (activate your virtual environment), and type in the following:

.. code-block:: bash

    pip install pymetacode

For more details, see the :doc:`installation instructions <installing>`.


License
=======

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the **BSD License**.



.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 2
   :caption: User Manual:
   :hidden:

   audience
   usecases
   customisation
   installing

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 2
   :caption: Internals:
   :hidden:

   configuration
   directory-structure
   templates

.. toctree::
   :maxdepth: 2
   :caption: Developers:
   :hidden:

   people
   developers
   changelog
   roadmap
   api/index