Dynamic INCLUDEs in QMD files

[jleonard99]

Description

My goal is to dynamically write INCLUDE shortcodes in my master document. I'm creating a revealjs slide deck and want to keep separate topic files containing graphics, etc. In my production code I'm dynamically including topics from a list.

In the simple example below I demonstrate two ways to INCLUDE my topic files in an HTML output file. The first is by direct include. The second is by writing the includes to the output stream from python for later processing.

When rendered, the graphviz figure in properly created in first example. In the second example, the graphviz code is displayed as code in a code block, rather than rendered as a figure.

The INCLUDE documentation discusses *computations" inside includes. I expect that this is the issue.

Any suggestions for workarounds? Is there a quarto hook that will allow me to expand or pre-render the content of the include file and then drop the contents into the output stream.

To run the example, store the first block in a file named test.qmd and the second file in _sample.qmd, and then render test.qmd

---
title: sample code
format: html
---

# Direct include

The graphviz plot below is generated from code in an *include* metacode. This code properly renders the graphviz diagram.

{{< include "_sample1.qmd" >}}


# Python include

The block below *should* look like the one above.  However, the graphviz code included is not rendered, but
rather is being displayed in a code block.

```{python}
#| echo: false
#| output: asis

print('\n\n{{< include "_sample1.qmd" >}}')

```

Here is a the _sample.qmd file:

## Simple DOT figure

The following code generates a graphviz plot.

```{python}
#| echo: false
#| output: asis
print(f"***a quick line from an included python block***")
```
and now the graphviz plot:

```{dot}
//| echo: false
//| fig-width: 550px
//| fig-height: 250px

digraph RelationalDataModel {
    graph [nodesep=1.0 bgcolor=transparent]
    node [shape=plaintext fontname="Arial" fontsize=10 color="cyan"];
    student [label=<
        <table border="0" cellborder="1" cellspacing="0">
            <tr><td colspan="4" align="center"><b>Students</b></td></tr>
            <tr><td><b>name</b></td><td><b>year</b></td><td><b>id</b></td><td><b>crs_id</b></td></tr>
            <tr><td align="left">Amara Singh</td><td>1991</td><td>1</td><td port="r1">NULL</td></tr>
        </table>
    >];
}

```

And the particulars of my installation.

❯ quarto check
Quarto 1.6.40
[✓] Checking environment information...
      Quarto cache location: /home/john/.cache/quarto
[✓] Checking versions of quarto binary dependencies...
      Pandoc version 3.4.0: OK
      Dart Sass version 1.70.0: OK
      Deno version 1.46.3: OK
      Typst version 0.11.0: OK
[✓] Checking versions of quarto dependencies......OK
[✓] Checking Quarto installation......OK
      Version: 1.6.40
      Path: /opt/quarto/bin

[✓] Checking tools....................OK
      TinyTeX: (not installed)
      Chromium: (not installed)

[✓] Checking LaTeX....................OK
      Tex:  (not detected)

[✓] Checking basic markdown render....OK

[✓] Checking Python 3 installation....OK
      Version: 3.13.1
      Path: /home/john/.cache/pypoetry/virtualenvs/cmsc408-course-admin-SiVgiy2p-py3.13/bin/python3
      Jupyter: 5.7.2
      Kernels: python3

[✓] Checking Jupyter engine render....OK

[✓] Checking R installation...........(None)

      Unable to locate an installed version of R.
      Install R from https://cloud.r-project.org/

Thanks again for any suggestions or tips!

[mcanouil]

Why not use project profiles and conditional contents?

Edit: actually it does (now) work but included files via computations won't have their code cell computed.
Shortcodes (at least "include") are resolved > computations > shortcodes are resolved > markdown rendering to format.
FWIW, I don't see any reasons to use computations here are the two features suggested above will allow better workflow without any need for computations in it, while making it cleaner.

Outdated comment (Quarto >1.6)

Because include shortcode behave as copy/paste and can include executable code, it needs t be ran before code.

```{python}
#| echo: false
#| output: asis

print('\n\n{{< include "_sample1.qmd" >}}')
```

The above does not do what you think.
You are not printing {{< include "_sample1.qmd" >}}. When the print is executed, {{< include "_sample1.qmd" >}} was already replaced.