# IPython Notebook development

## Development dependencies

Developers of the IPython Notebook will need to install the following tools:

* invoke
* node.js
* less (`npm install -g less`)

## Components

We are moving to a model where our JavaScript dependencies are managed using 
[bower](http://bower.io/). These packages are installed in `static/components`
and committed into a separate git repo [ipython/ipython-components](ipython/ipython-components).
Our dependencies are described in the file
`static/components/bower.json`. To update our bower packages, run `bower install`
in this directory.

## less

If you edit our `.less` files you will need to run the less compiler to build
our minified css files.  This can be done by running `python setup.py css` from the root of the repository. 
If you are working frequently with `.less` files please consider installing git hooks that
rebuild the css files and corresponding maps in `${RepoRoot}/git-hooks/install-hooks.sh`.

## JavaScript Documentation


How to  Build/ view the doc  for JavaScript. JavaScript documentation  should follow a
style close  to JSDoc  one, so you  should be  able to build  them with  your favorite
documentation builder. Still  the documentation comment are mainly written  to be read
with YUI  doc. You can either  build a static version,  or start a YUIdoc  server that
will live update the doc at every page request.



To do so, you will need to install YUIdoc.

### Install NodeJS

Node is a browser less javascript interpreter. To install it please refer to
the documentation for your platform. Install also NPM (node package manager) if
it does not come bundled with it.  

### Get YUIdoc

npm does by default install package in `./node_modules` instead of doing a
system wide install. I'll leave you to yuidoc docs if you want to make a system
wide install.

First, cd into js directory :
```bash
cd IPython/html/static/js/
# install yuidoc
npm install yuidocjs
```


### Run YUIdoc server

From IPython/html/static/js/
```bash
# run yuidoc for install dir 
./node_modules/yuidocjs/lib/cli.js --server .
```

Follow the instruction and the documentation should be available on localhost:3000

Omitting `--server` will build a static version in the `out` folder by default.
