No documentation on calling ScanCode as a library

[chrish42]

Description

The ScanCode documentation mentions that it is possible to use it as a Python library, which is great when you want to use it from a Python script. It includes instructions to install it as a library: https://scancode-toolkit.readthedocs.io/en/stable/getting-started/install.html#installation-as-a-library-via-pip However, after that, there is zero documentation available on how to use it as a library, making that choice not very practical.

Just a reference section on the Python API of ScanCode would already be a big improvement over digging through the source. Or, if you folks don't want to support that way of using it, then removing the section of the doc that lists that as a possibility would be a good idea. Thanks!

Select Category

• Inconsistency
• New Section Request
• General Improvement
• Typo/Mistakes
• Other

[pombredanne]

@chrish42 Thanks... guilty as charged!

Until we get there:

• https://github.com/nexB/scancode.io/blob/main/scanpipe/pipes/scancode.py can provide some directions as an example of using the code as a library.
• If you wander in these territories, collecting your travel notes and dropping these in a PR would be much appreciated.
• Please ask questions: what are you trying to achieve? any fancy thing with AI may be?

[ayan6943]

Hi, Can you please assign me the task ?

[chrish42]

I was trying to call ScanCode multiple time from a Python script (to run a few scans and then post-process the report). Calling it as a library seemed the simpler and more reliable option, since it's also Python code. But I couldn't find an easy example back then to guide me, so I eventually gave up and scripted it with subprocess.run(...) calls. I hope this helps.

[vidhiii1711]

I’d like to work on this. I will add a documentation page showing how to import ScanCode Toolkit as a Python library with example usage and will sumbit a PR soon!!