Displaying inline Python documentation in CoCalc for Jupyter notebooks

[miohtama]

What would be the best option to enable displaying inline documentation for functions a notebook user is using?

• Usually, editors and IDEs do this on mouse hover
• I remember Jupyter Notebooks have had some alternative approaches for this in the past

For my use case, the documentation is Sphinx style docstring from Python function (same as for Pandas, others.)

I would like this to appear when I put a cursor on a function.

How it works in PyCharm when editing notebooks:

Also, if there is a way to auto-import for functions or offer auto-import, that would be great, as these functions are usually related.

Autoimport hint in PyCharm:

[williamstein]

What would be the best option to enable displaying inline documentation for functions a notebook user is using?

This is not yet implemented in CoCalc. When it gets implemented it will probably be in conjunction with LSP support. See #5217

You can display docstring in the standard Jupyter notebook way, by typing "shift+tab" with the cursor right after the opening parenthesis. The dostring then appears in a separate panel, which you can maximize, split, etc. But it's not inline.

Also, if there is a way to auto-import for functions or offer auto-import, that would be great, as these functions are usually related.

Interesting. I've never heard of this before! How exactly does it work? Does it add code in the cell, then run the cell? There are many potential design choices for such a feature, so maybe you could describe exactly what pycharm does and whether or not you like it all of it.

[miohtama]

PyCharm, and I assume their Datalore product for data research as well, does the auto import by following

• It is the same for normal Python code and Jupyter notebooks
• They use their own LSP to know all your Python code in your project
• When you type an unidenfied expression you get an option to auto-correct it - and PyCharm will add the correct import
• PyCharm also keeps added imports in a correct Pythonic order and does not add it to the last
• You get an option to import in the current cell, or more options

PyCharm's auto import seems to be 100x more efficient and reliable e.g. one we get in Visual Studio Code through Pylance, and it s a major productivity boost when writing any Python.

[miohtama]

This is not yet implemented in CoCalc. When it gets implemented it will probably be in conjunction with LSP support. See #5217

Just to clarify on this - Is the current jupyter-lsp incompatible with CoCalc?

[williamstein]

Is the current jupyter-lsp incompatible with CoCalc?

Cocalc-jupyter is a completely different stack top-to-bottom than the python/jupyterlab ecosystem.