Automatically insert data into a reStructuredText file

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Suppose you need to present three products: Dianthus, Geum, and Prunus, each available in versions 1.0, 1.5, and 2.3.

Instead of manually entering data into the content file, you can automate this process using Jinja and Python.

1. Create the following template.rst file:

   Products and Versions
   =====================
   
   {% for prod in products %}
   {{ prod | capitalize }}
   {% for c in prod %}-{% endfor %}
      {% for ver in versions %}
   - {{ ver }}
      {% endfor %}
   {% endfor %}

2. Create the following Python script populate.py:

   #!/usr/bin/python
   # coding: utf-8
   import jinja2
   
   env = jinja2.Environment(loader=jinja2.FileSystemLoader('./'))
   
   template = env.get_template('template.rst')
   
   data = {
       'products': ['dianthus', 'geum', 'prunus'],
       'versions': ['1.0', '1.5', '2.3']
   }
   print(template.render(data))

3. Make the script executable, then run it:

   chmod +x populate.py
   ./populate.py

   The following output is displayed:

   Products and Versions
   =====================
   
   Dianthus
   --------
   
   - 1.0
   
   - 1.5
   
   - 2.3
   
   
   Geum
   ----
   
   - 1.0
   
   - 1.5
   
   - 2.3
   
   
   Prunus
   ------
   
   - 1.0
   
   - 1.5
   
   - 2.3

This approach minimizes the risk of errors and reduces the effort involved in updating.

Additional resources

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