latex_engine = 'xelatex' if language != 'ja' else 'platex'

[JulienPalard]

Subject: I can either build french or japanese but not both with the same conf.py

Problem

Building PDFs for the cPython documentation works for french using xelatex and for japanese with platex, but while initializing latex_engine value we don't have access to the language value.

I'd like to configure something like:

latex_engine = 'xelatex' if language != 'ja' else 'platex'

But we're giving language from a script via the makefile using the form -D language=fr.

Maybe we're doing it the wrong way, and by doing it more naturally we would not enconter this issue? Maybe we should pass latex_engine from the makefile too and have the 'xelatex' if language != 'ja' else 'platex' in our script?

Reproducible project / your project

• https://github.com/python/cpython/tree/master/Doc

Environment info

• OS: Linux
• Python version: 3.4.3 and 3.5.4
• Sphinx version: 1.6.4

[tk0miya]

Unfortunately Sphinx does not support configuration per languages. Please use -D option of sphinx-build command to override configuration.

BTW, I made very simple extension to realize your idea:
https://gist.github.com/tk0miya/8e9aa5aaa7d83a27a013839ad5463354

I wish this helps you.

[tk0miya]

Note:
Internally, Sphinx does not know what configuration values are specified at reading conf.py. Because extensions are not loaded here (They are listed at conf.py!). so it is hard to provide the value of language.
(I know some built-in config values are enabled here, but ...)

[JulienPalard]

@tk0miya Thanks for the clarification. We're currently using -D (python/docsbuild-scripts#34).