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5.5.4.1 Quickref–Common Lisp Reference Documentation as a Stress Test for Texinfo

Abstract

Quickref is a global documentation project for the Common Lisp ecosystem. It creates reference manuals automatically by introspecting libraries and generating corresponding documentation in Texinfo format. The Texinfo files may subsequently be converted into PDF or HTML. Quickref is non-intrusive: software developers do not have anything to do to get their libraries documented by the system.par Quickref may be used to create a local website documenting your current, partial, working environment, but it is also able to document the whole Common Lisp ecosystem at once. The result is a website containing almost two thousand reference manuals. Quickref provides a Docker image for an easy recreation of this website, but a public version is also available and actively maintained.par Quickref constitutes an enormous and successful stress test for Texinfo. In this paper, we give an overview of the design and architecture of the system, describe the challenges and difficulties in generating valid Texinfo code automatically, and put some emphasis on the currently remaining problems and deficiencies.