[racket] How to document a package and access its documentation

At Mon, 12 Aug 2013 12:28:30 -0600,
Jay McCarthy wrote:
> 
> Building documentation requires running Racket code, so only ring-0
> packages can be trusted. BTW, the hope is that all packages will be
> ring-0, unless they are on probation or deliberately malicious.

I agree that building the docs for untrusted packages would be a bad
idea.

If I remember correctly, though, the requirements for ring-0 packages
included a code audit. If that's the case, then promoting most packages
to ring-0 would require a lot of manpower. Since we're already having
trouble processing pull requests in a timely manner (which are much
lower volume than new packages), I'm not sure how realistic that goal
would be.

I like the idea of a ring-0 to showcase high-quality packages that are
on par with the standard library. But I also like the idea of lower
tiers with a lower barrier to entry, both for package authors and for
Racket developers. Currently, a random github repository can be a
package with minimal effort, which is great! It won't be (and shouln't
be) ring-0 material, which is fine. The low barrier to entry is one of
the things I like the most about the package system.

If we're going to have different rings at all (which I think we should),
then we should have a way to present documentation for all rings, not
just ring 0. Allowing package authors to provide a link to external docs
(as Asumu was suggesting) sounds like a good solution for non-ring-0
packages to me.

Vincent