# Copyright (C) 2001-2012, Parrot Foundation.

=pod

=head1 NAME

docs/pmc/documentation.pod - Documenting PMCs. 

=head1 DESCRIPTION

This document describes guidelines for writing documentation for PMCs.
All core PMCs B<must> be documented using the format outlined here.
We encourage other PMC developers to follow these practices, too.

Follow all documentation guidelines in F<docs/pdds/pdd07_codingstd.pod>.

=over

=item NAME

Required. Specify the filename relative to the Parrot root, followed by
a brief description of the PMC's intent.

 =head1 NAME

 src/pmc/exporter.pmc - Export globals from one namespace to another

=item DESCRIPTION

Required. A verbose description of the PMC's intent, mentioning the major
use cases. Include links to spec/design documentation or other related
files. Describe the interface (what this PMC inherits from, and what
interfaces it provides) -- a description of the information contained
in the C<pmclass> declaration.

 =head1 DESCRIPTION

 Exports globals from one namespace to another. Exporter always uses
 the typed namespace interface, as outlined in
 F<docs/pdds/pdd21_namespaces.pod>.

 Exporter is not derived from any other PMC, and does not provide any
 standard interface--its interface consists solely of methods, not
 vtable functions.

The B<DESCRIPTION> section is further broken down as follows:

=over 4

=item Structure

Describe the underlying structure of the PMC. Often this information
has been contained in source comments. It should be formalized and made
available to others by converting it to POD. Mention initialization and
finalization behavior.

 =head2 Structure

 The Exporter PMC structure (C<Parrot_Exporter>) consists of three items:

 =over 4

 =item C<ns_src>

 The source namespace -- a NameSpace PMC.
 An empty PMC of this type is allocated upon initialization.

 =item C<ns_dest>

 The destination namespace -- a NameSpace PMC.
 An empty PMC of this type is allocated upon initialization.

 =item C<globals>

 The globals to export -- a ResizableStringArray.
 A Null PMC is allocated during initialization.

=item Functions

Required. Group all PMC functions together in the source, and describe them
individually.

 =head2 Functions

 =over 4

 =item C<void init()>

 Instantiates an Exporter.

etc.

=item Methods

Required. Group all PMC methods together (VTABLE or otherwise,)
and describe function, expected parameters, and return values.

 =head2 Methods

 =over 4

 =item C<PCCMETHOD
 import(PMC *dest :optional :named["destination"], int got_dest :opt_flag,
 PMC *src :optional :named["source"], int got_src :opt_flag,
 PMC *globals :optional :named["globals"], int got_globals :opt_flag)>

 Import C<globals> from the C<src> namespace to the C<dest> namespace.
 If C<src>, C<dest>, or C<globals> are passed, they will override
 the current value.
 C<import> follows the semantics of the C<export_to> method
 of the C<NameSpace> PMC. in particular, if a NULL value is passed
 for C<globals>, the default set of items will be imported.
 Throws an exception upon error.

=back

=item STABILITY

Required. List the stability of this PMC, as classified in
F<docs/stability.pod>.

=item SEE ALSO

Recommended. List related documentation.

 =head1 SEE ALSO

 F<docs/pdds/pdd17_basic_types.pod>, F<docs/pdds/pdd21_namespaces.pod>.

=back

=head1 STABILITY

Unstable. This is a draft document, which must be reviewed and accepted by the Project Team.

=cut

