Remove documentation of machinery that is now in traitlets

And add link to it with intersphinx

docs/source/conf.py

@@ -191,7 +191,9 b' html_additional_pages = {'
 htmlhelp_basename = 'ipythondoc'
 
 intersphinx_mapping = {'python': ('http://docs.python.org/2/', None),
-                       'rpy2': ('http://rpy.sourceforge.net/rpy2/doc-2.4/html/', None)}
+                       'rpy2': ('http://rpy.sourceforge.net/rpy2/doc-2.4/html/', None),
+                       'traitlets': ('http://traitlets.readthedocs.org/en/latest/', None),
+                      }
 
 # Options for LaTeX output
 # ------------------------

docs/source/config/intro.rst

@@ -37,7 +37,7 b' no error.'
 
 To add to a collection which may have already been defined elsewhere,
 you can use methods like those found on lists, dicts and sets: append,
-extend, :meth:`~traitlets.config.loader.LazyConfigValue.prepend` (like
+extend, :meth:`~traitlets.config.LazyConfigValue.prepend` (like
 extend, but at the front), add and update (which works both for dicts
 and sets)::
 

docs/source/development/config.rst

@@ -4,296 +4,9 b''
 Overview of the IPython configuration system
 ============================================
 
-This section describes the IPython configuration system. 
-
-The main concepts
-=================
-
-There are a number of abstractions that the IPython configuration system uses.
-Each of these abstractions is represented by a Python class.
-
-Configuration object: :class:`~traitlets.config.loader.Config`
-    A configuration object is a simple dictionary-like class that holds
-    configuration attributes and sub-configuration objects. These classes
-    support dotted attribute style access (``cfg.Foo.bar``) in addition to the
-    regular dictionary style access (``cfg['Foo']['bar']``).
-    The Config object is a wrapper around a simple dictionary with some convenience methods,
-    such as merging and automatic section creation.
-
-Application: :class:`~traitlets.config.application.Application`
-    An application is a process that does a specific job. The most obvious
-    application is the :command:`ipython` command line program. Each
-    application reads *one or more* configuration files and a single set of
-    command line options
-    and then produces a master configuration object for the application. This
-    configuration object is then passed to the configurable objects that the
-    application creates. These configurable objects implement the actual logic
-    of the application and know how to configure themselves given the
-    configuration object.
-    
-    Applications always have a `log` attribute that is a configured Logger.
-    This allows centralized logging configuration per-application.
-
-Configurable: :class:`~traitlets.config.configurable.Configurable`
-    A configurable is a regular Python class that serves as a base class for
-    all main classes in an application. The
-    :class:`~traitlets.config.configurable.Configurable` base class is
-    lightweight and only does one things.
-
-    This :class:`~traitlets.config.configurable.Configurable` is a subclass
-    of :class:`~traitlets.HasTraits` that knows how to configure
-    itself. Class level traits with the metadata ``config=True`` become
-    values that can be configured from the command line and configuration
-    files.
-    
-    Developers create :class:`~traitlets.config.configurable.Configurable`
-    subclasses that implement all of the logic in the application. Each of
-    these subclasses has its own configuration information that controls how
-    instances are created.
-
-Singletons: :class:`~traitlets.config.configurable.SingletonConfigurable`
-    Any object for which there is a single canonical instance. These are
-    just like Configurables, except they have a class method 
-    :meth:`~traitlets.config.configurable.SingletonConfigurable.instance`,
-    that returns the current active instance (or creates one if it
-    does not exist).  Examples of singletons include
-    :class:`~traitlets.config.application.Application`s and
-    :class:`~IPython.core.interactiveshell.InteractiveShell`.  This lets
-    objects easily connect to the current running Application without passing
-    objects around everywhere.  For instance, to get the current running 
-    Application instance, simply do: ``app = Application.instance()``.
-
-
-.. note::
-
-    Singletons are not strictly enforced - you can have many instances
-    of a given singleton class, but the :meth:`instance` method will always
-    return the same one.
-
-Having described these main concepts, we can now state the main idea in our
-configuration system: *"configuration" allows the default values of class
-attributes to be controlled on a class by class basis*. Thus all instances of
-a given class are configured in the same way. Furthermore, if two instances
-need to be configured differently, they need to be instances of two different
-classes. While this model may seem a bit restrictive, we have found that it
-expresses most things that need to be configured extremely well. However, it
-is possible to create two instances of the same class that have different
-trait values. This is done by overriding the configuration.
-
-Now, we show what our configuration objects and files look like.
-
-Configuration objects and files
-===============================
-
-A configuration object is little more than a wrapper around a dictionary.
-A configuration *file* is simply a mechanism for producing that object.
-The main IPython configuration file is a plain Python script,
-which can perform extensive logic to populate the config object.
-IPython 2.0 introduces a JSON configuration file,
-which is just a direct JSON serialization of the config dictionary,
-which is easily processed by external software.
-
-When both Python and JSON configuration file are present, both will be loaded,
-with JSON configuration having higher priority.
-
-Python configuration Files
---------------------------
-
-A Python configuration file is a pure Python file that populates a configuration object.
-This configuration object is a :class:`~traitlets.config.loader.Config` instance.
-While in a configuration file, to get a reference to this object, simply call the :func:`get_config`
-function, which is available in the global namespace of the script.
-
-Here is an example of a super simple configuration file that does nothing::
-
-    c = get_config()
-
-Once you get a reference to the configuration object, you simply set
-attributes on it.  All you have to know is:
-
-* The name of the class to configure.
-* The name of the attribute.
-* The type of each attribute.
-
-The answers to these questions are provided by the various
-:class:`~traitlets.config.configurable.Configurable` subclasses that an
-application uses. Let's look at how this would work for a simple configurable
-subclass::
-
-    # Sample configurable:
-    from traitlets.config.configurable import Configurable
-    from traitlets import Int, Float, Unicode, Bool
-    
-    class MyClass(Configurable):
-        name = Unicode(u'defaultname', config=True)
-        ranking = Int(0, config=True)
-        value = Float(99.0)
-        # The rest of the class implementation would go here..
-
-In this example, we see that :class:`MyClass` has three attributes, two
-of which (``name``, ``ranking``) can be configured.  All of the attributes
-are given types and default values.  If a :class:`MyClass` is instantiated,
-but not configured, these default values will be used.  But let's see how
-to configure this class in a configuration file::
-
-    # Sample config file
-    c = get_config()
-    
-    c.MyClass.name = 'coolname'
-    c.MyClass.ranking = 10
-
-After this configuration file is loaded, the values set in it will override
-the class defaults anytime a :class:`MyClass` is created.  Furthermore,
-these attributes will be type checked and validated anytime they are set.
-This type checking is handled by the :mod:`traitlets` module,
-which provides the :class:`Unicode`, :class:`Int` and :class:`Float` types.
-In addition to these traitlets, the :mod:`traitlets` provides
-traitlets for a number of other types.
-
-.. note::
-
-    Underneath the hood, the :class:`Configurable` base class is a subclass of
-    :class:`traitlets.HasTraits`. The
-    :mod:`traitlets` module is a lightweight version of
-    :mod:`enthought.traits`. Our implementation is a pure Python subset
-    (mostly API compatible) of :mod:`enthought.traits` that does not have any
-    of the automatic GUI generation capabilities. Our plan is to achieve 100%
-    API compatibility to enable the actual :mod:`enthought.traits` to
-    eventually be used instead. Currently, we cannot use
-    :mod:`enthought.traits` as we are committed to the core of IPython being
-    pure Python.
-
-It should be very clear at this point what the naming convention is for 
-configuration attributes::
-
-    c.ClassName.attribute_name = attribute_value
-
-Here, ``ClassName`` is the name of the class whose configuration attribute you
-want to set, ``attribute_name`` is the name of the attribute you want to set
-and ``attribute_value`` the the value you want it to have. The ``ClassName``
-attribute of ``c`` is not the actual class, but instead is another
-:class:`~traitlets.config.loader.Config` instance.
-
-.. note::
-
-    The careful reader may wonder how the ``ClassName`` (``MyClass`` in
-    the above example) attribute of the configuration object ``c`` gets
-    created. These attributes are created on the fly by the
-    :class:`~traitlets.config.loader.Config` instance, using a simple naming
-    convention. Any attribute of a :class:`~traitlets.config.loader.Config`
-    instance whose name begins with an uppercase character is assumed to be a
-    sub-configuration and a new empty :class:`~traitlets.config.loader.Config`
-    instance is dynamically created for that attribute. This allows deeply
-    hierarchical information created easily (``c.Foo.Bar.value``) on the fly.
-
-JSON configuration Files
-------------------------
-
-A JSON configuration file is simply a file that contains a
-:class:`~traitlets.config.loader.Config` dictionary serialized to JSON.
-A JSON configuration file has the same base name as a Python configuration file,
-but with a .json extension.
-
-Configuration described in previous section could be written as follows in a
-JSON configuration file:
-
-.. sourcecode:: json
-
-    {
-      "version": "1.0",
-      "MyClass": {
-        "name": "coolname",
-        "ranking": 10
-      }
-    }
-
-JSON configuration files can be more easily generated or processed by programs
-or other languages.
-
-
-Configuration files inheritance
-===============================
-
-.. note::
-
-    This section only apply to Python configuration files.
-
-Let's say you want to have different configuration files for various purposes.
-Our configuration system makes it easy for one configuration file to inherit
-the information in another configuration file. The :func:`load_subconfig`
-command can be used in a configuration file for this purpose. Here is a simple
-example that loads all of the values from the file :file:`base_config.py`::
-
-    # base_config.py
-    c = get_config()
-    c.MyClass.name = 'coolname'
-    c.MyClass.ranking = 100
-
-into the configuration file :file:`main_config.py`::
-
-    # main_config.py
-    c = get_config()
-    
-    # Load everything from base_config.py
-    load_subconfig('base_config.py')
-    
-    # Now override one of the values
-    c.MyClass.name = 'bettername'
-
-In a situation like this the :func:`load_subconfig` makes sure that the
-search path for sub-configuration files is inherited from that of the parent.
-Thus, you can typically put the two in the same directory and everything will
-just work.
-
-You can also load configuration files by profile, for instance:
-
-.. sourcecode:: python
-
-    load_subconfig('ipython_config.py', profile='default')
-
-to inherit your default configuration as a starting point.
-
-
-Class based configuration inheritance
-=====================================
-
-There is another aspect of configuration where inheritance comes into play.
-Sometimes, your classes will have an inheritance hierarchy that you want
-to be reflected in the configuration system.  Here is a simple example::
-
-    from traitlets.config.configurable import Configurable
-    from traitlets import Int, Float, Unicode, Bool
-    
-    class Foo(Configurable):
-        name = Unicode(u'fooname', config=True)
-        value = Float(100.0, config=True)
-    
-    class Bar(Foo):
-        name = Unicode(u'barname', config=True)
-        othervalue = Int(0, config=True)
-
-Now, we can create a configuration file to configure instances of :class:`Foo`
-and :class:`Bar`::
-
-    # config file
-    c = get_config()
-    
-    c.Foo.name = u'bestname'
-    c.Bar.othervalue = 10
-
-This class hierarchy and configuration file accomplishes the following:
-
-* The default value for :attr:`Foo.name` and :attr:`Bar.name` will be
-  'bestname'.  Because :class:`Bar` is a :class:`Foo` subclass it also
-  picks up the configuration information for :class:`Foo`.
-* The default value for :attr:`Foo.value` and :attr:`Bar.value` will be
-  ``100.0``, which is the value specified as the class default.
-* The default value for :attr:`Bar.othervalue` will be 10 as set in the
-  configuration file.  Because :class:`Foo` is the parent of :class:`Bar`
-  it doesn't know anything about the :attr:`othervalue` attribute.
-
-
-.. _ipython_dir:
+This section describes the IPython configuration system. This is based on
+:mod:`traitlets.config`; see that documentation for more information
+about the overall architecture.
 
 Configuration file location
 ===========================
@@ -305,7 +18,7 b' following algorithm:'
 
 * If the ``ipython-dir`` command line flag is given, its value is used.
 
-* If not, the value returned by :func:`IPython.utils.path.get_ipython_dir`
+* If not, the value returned by :func:`IPython.paths.get_ipython_dir`
   is used. This function will first look at the :envvar:`IPYTHONDIR`
   environment variable and then default to :file:`~/.ipython`.
   Historical support for the :envvar:`IPYTHON_DIR` environment variable will
@@ -400,6 +113,14 b' you create profiles with the name of one of our shipped profiles, these config'
 files will be copied over instead of starting with the automatically generated
 config files.
 
+IPython extends the config loader for Python files so that you can inherit
+config from another profile. To do this, use a line like this in your Python
+config file:
+
+.. sourcecode:: python
+
+    load_subconfig('ipython_config.py', profile='default')
+
 Security Files
 --------------
 
@@ -425,142 +146,3 b' constructed, and before any other code or scripts you have specified. If you'
 have multiple files in the startup directory, they will be run in 
 lexicographical order, so you can control the ordering by adding a '00-' 
 prefix.
-
-
-.. _commandline:
-
-Command-line arguments
-======================
-
-IPython exposes *all* configurable options on the command-line. The command-line
-arguments are generated from the Configurable traits of the classes associated
-with a given Application.  Configuring IPython from the command-line may look
-very similar to an IPython config file
-
-IPython applications use a parser called
-:class:`~traitlets.config.loader.KeyValueLoader` to load values into a Config
-object.  Values are assigned in much the same way as in a config file:
-
-.. code-block:: bash
-
-    $ ipython --InteractiveShell.use_readline=False --BaseIPythonApplication.profile='myprofile'
-
-Is the same as adding:
-
-.. sourcecode:: python
-
-    c.InteractiveShell.use_readline=False
-    c.BaseIPythonApplication.profile='myprofile'
-
-to your config file. Key/Value arguments *always* take a value, separated by '='
-and no spaces.
-
-Common Arguments
-----------------
-
-Since the strictness and verbosity of the KVLoader above are not ideal for everyday
-use, common arguments can be specified as flags_ or aliases_.
-
-Flags and Aliases are handled by :mod:`argparse` instead, allowing for more flexible
-parsing. In general, flags and aliases are prefixed by ``--``, except for those
-that are single characters, in which case they can be specified with a single ``-``, e.g.:
-
-.. code-block:: bash
-
-    $ ipython -i -c "import numpy; x=numpy.linspace(0,1)" --profile testing --colors=lightbg
-
-Aliases
-*******
-
-For convenience, applications have a mapping of commonly used traits, so you don't have
-to specify the whole class name:
-
-.. code-block:: bash
-
-    $ ipython --profile myprofile
-    # and
-    $ ipython --profile='myprofile'
-    # are equivalent to
-    $ ipython --BaseIPythonApplication.profile='myprofile'
-
-Flags
-*****
-
-Applications can also be passed **flags**. Flags are options that take no
-arguments. They are simply wrappers for
-setting one or more configurables with predefined values, often True/False.
-
-For instance:
-
-.. code-block:: bash
-
-    $ ipcontroller --debug
-    # is equivalent to
-    $ ipcontroller --Application.log_level=DEBUG
-    # and
-    $ ipython --matplotlib
-    # is equivalent to
-    $ ipython --matplotlib auto
-    # or
-    $ ipython --no-banner
-    # is equivalent to
-    $ ipython --TerminalIPythonApp.display_banner=False
-
-Subcommands
------------
-
-
-Some IPython applications have **subcommands**. Subcommands are modeled after
-:command:`git`, and are called with the form :command:`command subcommand
-[...args]`.  Currently, the QtConsole is a subcommand of terminal IPython:
-
-.. code-block:: bash
-
-    $ ipython qtconsole --profile myprofile
-
-and :command:`ipcluster` is simply a wrapper for its various subcommands (start,
-stop, engines).
-
-.. code-block:: bash
-
-    $ ipcluster start --profile=myprofile -n 4
-
-
-To see a list of the available aliases, flags, and subcommands for an IPython application, simply pass ``-h`` or ``--help``.  And to see the full list of configurable options (*very* long), pass ``--help-all``.
-
-
-Design requirements
-===================
-
-Here are the main requirements we wanted our configuration system to have:
-
-* Support for hierarchical configuration information.
-
-* Full integration with command line option parsers.  Often, you want to read
-  a configuration file, but then override some of the values with command line
-  options.  Our configuration system automates this process and allows each
-  command line option to be linked to a particular attribute in the 
-  configuration hierarchy that it will override.
-
-* Configuration files that are themselves valid Python code. This accomplishes
-  many things. First, it becomes possible to put logic in your configuration
-  files that sets attributes based on your operating system, network setup,
-  Python version, etc. Second, Python has a super simple syntax for accessing
-  hierarchical data structures, namely regular attribute access
-  (``Foo.Bar.Bam.name``). Third, using Python makes it easy for users to
-  import configuration attributes from one configuration file to another.
-  Fourth, even though Python is dynamically typed, it does have types that can
-  be checked at runtime. Thus, a ``1`` in a config file is the integer '1',
-  while a ``'1'`` is a string.
-
-* A fully automated method for getting the configuration information to the
-  classes that need it at runtime. Writing code that walks a configuration
-  hierarchy to extract a particular attribute is painful. When you have
-  complex configuration information with hundreds of attributes, this makes
-  you want to cry.
-
-* Type checking and validation that doesn't require the entire configuration
-  hierarchy to be specified statically before runtime. Python is a very
-  dynamic language and you don't always know everything that needs to be
-  configured when a program starts.
-