mdbook-template

A mdbook preprocessor that allows the re-usability of template files with variable arguments

Table of Contents

TODO

Author Notes

I'm still a beginner in terms of my Rust skills, so I'm definitely... probably sure that there are edge cases within this preprocessor.

Installation

Install Through Cargo

$ cargo install mdbook-template

Add the following line into your book.toml

[preprocessor.template]

You're good to go :D Continue building your mdbook normally!

$ mdbook build

About

Given the following directory structure

book.toml
src
├── rust.md
├── go.md
├── friends
│   └── hazel.md
├── images
│   ├── ferris.png
│   └── corro.png
└── SUMMARY.md

If we wanted to include the images ferris.png and corro.png within all the files through a footer, we'd have to copy the same piece of markdown/code in every file and set a unique path back to the images/ directory.

This is where mdbook-template can help with the introduction of {{#template ...}.

Being based on the {{#include ... }} feature of mdbook, mdbook-template allows you to use familiar syntax to include files while passing in arguments to allow for dynamic generation of text.

Please view the given example which demonstrates it in action.

Format

The format is as follows

        1             2           3
    {{#template     <file>      <args>}}

1. The identifier that this text should be replaced
2. The relative path to the template file
3. Any arguments that should be substituted within the template file. Arguments should be seperated by whitespace and should be in the key=value format.

Arguments to be replaced within the template files should be wrapped in {}

Valid Configurations

# Valid
{{#template file.txt path=../images author=Goudham}}

# Valid
{{#template
    file.txt
    path=../images
    author=Goudham
}}

# Valid
// Not recommended but valid
{{#template     file.txt   path=../images author=Goudham}}

# Valid
// Not recommended but valid
{{#template
file.txt
        path=../images
    author=Goudham
}}

# Invalid
// Use {{#include}} for simply including files
{{#template file.txt}}

# Invalid
{{#template
    file.txt
    path=../images
    author=Goudham}}

# Invalid
{{#template file.txt
    path=../images
    author=Goudham
}}

Example

Given the following directory

book.toml
src
├── rust.md
├── go.md
├── friends
│   └── hazel.md
├── images
│   ├── ferris.png
│   └── corro.png
├── templates
│   └── footer.md
└── SUMMARY.md

and the following content

templates/footer.md

-- Designed By {authors} --
![ferris]({path}/ferris.png)
![corro]({path}/corro.png)

rust.md

# Rust
Some Content...

{{#template templates/footer.md authors=Goudham, Hazel path=images}}

go.md

# Go
Some Content...

{{#template templates/footer.md path=images authors=Goudham, Hazel}}

friends/hazel.md

# Hazel
Some Content...

{{#template 
    templates/footer.md 
    path=../images
    authors=Goudham, Hazel
}}

After running mdbook build with the mdbook-template preprocessor enabled, the files will have dynamic paths to the images and contain identical content.

rust.md

# Rust
Some Content...

-- Designed By Goudham, Hazel --
![ferris](images/ferris.png)
![corro](images/corro.png)

go.md

# Go
Some Content...

-- Designed By Goudham, Hazel --
![ferris](images/ferris.png)
![corro](images/corro.png)

friends/hazel.md

# Hazel
Some Content...

-- Designed By Goudham, Hazel --
![ferris](../images/ferris.png)
![corro](../images/corro.png)

Further examples are included within the examples directory which demonstrate a variety of usages.

License

MIT License

Contributing

First, thanks for your interest in contributing to this project! Please read the CONTRIBUTING.md before contributing!

Acknowledgement

This preprocessor is heavily based off the links.rs file within mdbook itself. I definitely wouldn't have been able to mock up something like this without the strong foundations that mdbook already implemented.