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docs(ref): Re-org workspace docs to be like package docs
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In looking over rust-lang#10625, I remembered we've been having growing pains
with the workspace documentation.  It was originally written when there
were a lot fewer workspace features.  As more workspace features have
been added, they've been tacked on to the documentation.

This re-thinks the documentation by focusing on the schema, much like
`manifest.md` does.
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epage committed Sep 13, 2022
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2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion src/doc/src/reference/manifest.md
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Expand Up @@ -516,7 +516,7 @@ external tools may wish to use them in a consistent fashion, such as referring
to the data in `workspace.metadata` if data is missing from `package.metadata`,
if that makes sense for the tool in question.

[workspace-metadata]: workspaces.md#the-workspacemetadata-table
[workspace-metadata]: workspaces.md#the-metadata-table

#### The `default-run` field

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2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion src/doc/src/reference/specifying-dependencies.md
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Expand Up @@ -489,7 +489,7 @@ rand = { workspace = true, optional = true }

[crates.io]: https://crates.io/
[dev-dependencies]: #development-dependencies
[workspace.dependencies]: workspaces.md#the-workspacedependencies-table
[workspace.dependencies]: workspaces.md#the-dependencies-table
[optional]: features.md#optional-dependencies
[features]: features.md

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6 changes: 3 additions & 3 deletions src/doc/src/reference/unstable.md
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Expand Up @@ -1358,7 +1358,7 @@ for more information.
### Workspace Inheritance

Workspace Inheritance has been stabilized in the 1.64 release.
See [workspace.package](workspaces.md#the-workspacepackage-table),
[workspace.dependencies](workspaces.md#the-workspacedependencies-table),
See [workspace.package](workspaces.md#the-package-table),
[workspace.dependencies](workspaces.md#the-dependencies-table),
and [inheriting-a-dependency-from-a-workspace](specifying-dependencies.md#inheriting-a-dependency-from-a-workspace)
for more information.
for more information.
98 changes: 68 additions & 30 deletions src/doc/src/reference/workspaces.md
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Expand Up @@ -3,39 +3,79 @@
A *workspace* is a collection of one or more packages that share common
dependency resolution (with a shared `Cargo.lock`), output directory, and
various settings such as profiles. Packages that are part of a workspaces are
called *workspace members*. There are two flavours of workspaces: as root
package or as virtual manifest.
called *workspace members*.

### Root package
The key points of workspaces are:

* All packages share a common `Cargo.lock` file which resides in the
*workspace root*.
* All packages share a common [output directory], which defaults to a
directory named `target` in the *workspace root*.
* The [`[patch]`][patch], [`[replace]`][replace] and [`[profile.*]`][profiles]
sections in `Cargo.toml` are only recognized in the *root* manifest, and
ignored in member crates' manifests.

A workspace can be created by adding a [`[workspace]`
section](#the-workspace-section) to `Cargo.toml`. This can be added to a
`Cargo.toml` that already defines a `[package]`, in which case the package is
In the `Cargo.toml`, the `[workspace]` table supports the following sections:

* [`[workspace]`](#the-workspace-section) — Defines a workspace.
* [`members`](#the-members-and-exclude-fields) — Packages to include in the workspace.
* [`exclude`](#the-members-and-exclude-fields) — Packages to exclude from the workspace.
* [`default-members`](#the-default-members-field) — Packages to operate on when a specific package wasn't selected.
* [`metadata`](#the-metadata-table) — Extra settings for external tools.
* [`package`](#the-package-table) — Keys for inheriting in packages.
* [`dependencies`](#the-dependencies-table) — Keys for inheriting in package dependencies.

### The `[workspace]` section

To create a workspace, you add the `[workspace]` table to a `Cargo.toml`:
```toml
[workspace]
# ...
```

At minimum, a workspace has to have a member, either with a root package or as
a virtual manifest.

#### Root package

If the [`[workspace]` section](#the-workspace-section) is added to a
`Cargo.toml` that already defines a `[package]`, the package is
the *root package* of the workspace. The *workspace root* is the directory
where the workspace's `Cargo.toml` is located.

### Virtual manifest
```toml
[workspace]

[package]
name = "hello_world" # the name of the package
version = "0.1.0" # the current version, obeying semver
authors = ["Alice <a@example.com>", "Bob <b@example.com>"]
```

#### Virtual workspace

Alternatively, a `Cargo.toml` file can be created with a `[workspace]` section
but without a [`[package]` section][package]. This is called a *virtual
manifest*. This is typically useful when there isn't a "primary" package, or
you want to keep all the packages organized in separate directories.

### Key features

The key points of workspaces are:
```toml
# [PROJECT_DIR]/Cargo.toml
[workspace]
members = ["hello_world"]
```

* All packages share a common `Cargo.lock` file which resides in the
*workspace root*.
* All packages share a common [output directory], which defaults to a
directory named `target` in the *workspace root*.
* The [`[patch]`][patch], [`[replace]`][replace] and [`[profile.*]`][profiles]
sections in `Cargo.toml` are only recognized in the *root* manifest, and
ignored in member crates' manifests.
```toml
# [PROJECT_DIR]/hello_world/Cargo.toml
[package]
name = "hello_world" # the name of the package
version = "0.1.0" # the current version, obeying semver
authors = ["Alice <a@example.com>", "Bob <b@example.com>"]
```

### The `[workspace]` section
### The `members` and `exclude` fields

The `[workspace]` table in `Cargo.toml` defines which packages are members of
The `[members]` and `exclude` fields define which packages are members of
the workspace:

```toml
Expand All @@ -56,26 +96,24 @@ workspace. This can be useful if some path dependencies aren't desired to be
in the workspace at all, or using a glob pattern and you want to remove a
directory.

An empty `[workspace]` table can be used with a `[package]` to conveniently
create a workspace with the package and all of its path dependencies.

### Workspace selection

When inside a subdirectory within the workspace, Cargo will automatically
search the parent directories for a `Cargo.toml` file with a `[workspace]`
definition to determine which workspace to use. The [`package.workspace`]
manifest key can be used in member crates to point at a workspace's root to
override this automatic search. The manual setting can be useful if the member
is not inside a subdirectory of the workspace root.

### Package selection
#### Package Selection

In a workspace, package-related cargo commands like [`cargo build`] can use
the `-p` / `--package` or `--workspace` command-line flags to determine which
packages to operate on. If neither of those flags are specified, Cargo will
use the package in the current working directory. If the current directory is
a virtual workspace, it will apply to all members (as if `--workspace` were
specified on the command-line).
a [virtual workspace](#virtual-workspace), it will apply to all members (as if
`--workspace` were specified on the command-line). See also
[`default-members`](#the-default-members-field).

### The `default-members` field

The optional `default-members` key can be specified to set the members to
operate on when in the workspace root and the package selection flags are not
Expand All @@ -89,7 +127,7 @@ default-members = ["path/to/member2", "path/to/member3/foo"]

When specified, `default-members` must expand to a subset of `members`.

### The `workspace.metadata` table
### The `metadata` table

The `workspace.metadata` table is ignored by Cargo and will not be warned
about. This section can be used for tools that would like to store workspace
Expand All @@ -112,7 +150,7 @@ external tools may wish to use them in a consistent fashion, such as referring
to the data in `workspace.metadata` if data is missing from `package.metadata`,
if that makes sense for the tool in question.

### The `workspace.package` table
### The `package` table

The `workspace.package` table is where you define keys that can be
inherited by members of a workspace. These keys can be inherited by
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -157,7 +195,7 @@ description.workspace = true
documentation.workspace = true
```

### The `workspace.dependencies` table
### The `dependencies` table

The `workspace.dependencies` table is where you define dependencies to be
inherited by members of a workspace.
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