[Rd] RFE: Hierarchical Sectioning in the Entry Page to Documentation for S4-Classes in Contributed Packages

[Peter Ruckdeschel]

Hi,

we are at that stage working on a  package implementing the concept of
distributions as own S4-Classes. We are planning to submit a first 
tentative
version to this audience by the end of November.

One issue we met is that when documenting our classes, the resulting
help-file that is displayed as first page [at least in html] when 
searching for
help to our package works quite reasonable, but in our view looks a bit 
overloaded,
not to say messy.

To our knowledge there is no standard way of avoiding this mentionned in
the FAQs and the manuals.

We would appreciate the possibility to further partition/section the 
entry page of a
documentation of a package --- at best reflecting the inheritance 
structure of our classes.

To be precise we would like to have the possibility to begin the entry 
page with a highly
structured (in tree/graph-form?)  presentation of the classes / methods 
within this package
--- not at all listed in alphabetical order.

->[ for instance grouped in TeX-like sections/subsections,  corresponding to
      the inheritance structure of our classes, and / or one section for 
each generic
      function  --- possibly also illustrated by an automatically placed 
tree diagram
      for the inheritance structure? --- ]

 Only after this we would add the display style for the entry page
 as it is at the moment as sort of an index.

We think that this way one would apprehend at first glance the 
hierarchical structure
of the classes within this package and that this incremental view should 
greatly
enhance the readability of the help files ---  not only of ours.

On the other hand this sketched way of sectioning should be optional so 
that any
developper may confine oneself to the existing display modi.

What do you think of this proposal? And do you think it is hard to 
implement 
(unfortunately we cannot offer  much help in that)?

Thank you for your attention

-- 
Peter Ruckdeschel