Update docval to accept fully qualified class names

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -1,5 +1,11 @@
 # HDMF Changelog
 
+## HDMF 3.12.1 (Upcoming)
+
+### Bug fixes
+- Fixed internal links in docstrings and tutorials. @stephprince [#1031](https://github.com/hdmf-dev/hdmf/pull/1031)
+- Fixed issue with creating documentation links to classes in docval arguments. @rly [#1036](https://github.com/hdmf-dev/hdmf/pull/1036)
+
 ## HDMF 3.12.0 (January 16, 2024)
 
 ### Enhancements

src/hdmf/backends/hdf5/h5_utils.py

@@ -86,7 +86,8 @@ def append(self, dataset, data):
 
 class H5Dataset(HDMFDataset):
     @docval({'name': 'dataset', 'type': (Dataset, Array), 'doc': 'the HDF5 file lazily evaluate'},
-            {'name': 'io', 'type': 'HDF5IO', 'doc': 'the IO object that was used to read the underlying dataset'})
+            {'name': 'io', 'type': 'hdmf.backends.hdf5.h5tools.HDF5IO',
+             'doc': 'the IO object that was used to read the underlying dataset'})
     def __init__(self, **kwargs):
         self.__io = popargs('io', kwargs)
         super().__init__(**kwargs)
@@ -175,7 +176,8 @@ def get_object(self, h5obj):
 class AbstractH5TableDataset(DatasetOfReferences):
 
     @docval({'name': 'dataset', 'type': (Dataset, Array), 'doc': 'the HDF5 file lazily evaluate'},
-            {'name': 'io', 'type': 'HDF5IO', 'doc': 'the IO object that was used to read the underlying dataset'},
+            {'name': 'io', 'type': 'hdmf.backends.hdf5.h5tools.HDF5IO',
+             'doc': 'the IO object that was used to read the underlying dataset'},
             {'name': 'types', 'type': (list, tuple),
              'doc': 'the IO object that was used to read the underlying dataset'})
     def __init__(self, **kwargs):

src/hdmf/backends/hdf5/h5tools.py

@@ -363,7 +363,7 @@ def copy_file(self, **kwargs):
             {'name': 'exhaust_dci', 'type': bool,
              'doc': 'If True (default), exhaust DataChunkIterators one at a time. If False, exhaust them concurrently.',
              'default': True},
-            {'name': 'herd', 'type': 'HERD',
+            {'name': 'herd', 'type': 'hdmf.common.resources.HERD',
              'doc': 'A HERD object to populate with references.',
              'default': None})
     def write(self, **kwargs):
@@ -399,7 +399,8 @@ def __cache_spec(self):
             ns_builder.export(self.__ns_spec_path, writer=writer)
 
     _export_args = (
-        {'name': 'src_io', 'type': 'HDMFIO', 'doc': 'the HDMFIO object for reading the data to export'},
+        {'name': 'src_io', 'type': 'hdmf.backends.io.HDMFIO',
+         'doc': 'the HDMFIO object for reading the data to export'},
         {'name': 'container', 'type': Container,
          'doc': ('the Container object to export. If None, then the entire contents of the HDMFIO object will be '
                  'exported'),

src/hdmf/backends/io.py

@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ def read(self, **kwargs):
         return container
 
     @docval({'name': 'container', 'type': Container, 'doc': 'the Container object to write'},
-            {'name': 'herd', 'type': 'HERD',
+            {'name': 'herd', 'type': 'hdmf.common.resources.HERD',
              'doc': 'A HERD object to populate with references.',
              'default': None}, allow_extra=True)
     def write(self, **kwargs):
@@ -98,7 +98,8 @@ def write(self, **kwargs):
         f_builder = self.__manager.build(container, source=self.__source, root=True)
         self.write_builder(f_builder, **kwargs)
 
-    @docval({'name': 'src_io', 'type': 'HDMFIO', 'doc': 'the HDMFIO object for reading the data to export'},
+    @docval({'name': 'src_io', 'type': 'hdmf.backends.io.HDMFIO',
+             'doc': 'the HDMFIO object for reading the data to export'},
             {'name': 'container', 'type': Container,
              'doc': ('the Container object to export. If None, then the entire contents of the HDMFIO object will be '
                      'exported'),

src/hdmf/build/builders.py

@@ -14,7 +14,8 @@
 class Builder(dict, metaclass=ABCMeta):
 
     @docval({'name': 'name', 'type': str, 'doc': 'the name of the group'},
-            {'name': 'parent', 'type': 'Builder', 'doc': 'the parent builder of this Builder', 'default': None},
+            {'name': 'parent', 'type': 'hdmf.build.builders.Builder', 'doc': 'the parent builder of this Builder',
+             'default': None},
             {'name': 'source', 'type': str,
              'doc': 'the source of the data in this builder e.g. file name', 'default': None})
     def __init__(self, **kwargs):
@@ -79,7 +80,8 @@ class BaseBuilder(Builder, metaclass=ABCMeta):
     @docval({'name': 'name', 'type': str, 'doc': 'The name of the builder.'},
             {'name': 'attributes', 'type': dict, 'doc': 'A dictionary of attributes to create in this builder.',
              'default': dict()},
-            {'name': 'parent', 'type': 'GroupBuilder', 'doc': 'The parent builder of this builder.', 'default': None},
+            {'name': 'parent', 'type': 'hdmf.build.builders.GroupBuilder', 'doc': 'The parent builder of this builder.',
+             'default': None},
             {'name': 'source', 'type': str,
              'doc': 'The source of the data represented in this builder', 'default': None})
     def __init__(self, **kwargs):
@@ -134,7 +136,8 @@ class GroupBuilder(BaseBuilder):
              'doc': ('A dictionary or list of links to add to this group. If a dict is provided, only the '
                      'values are used.'),
              'default': dict()},
-            {'name': 'parent', 'type': 'GroupBuilder', 'doc': 'The parent builder of this builder.', 'default': None},
+            {'name': 'parent', 'type': 'hdmf.build.builders.GroupBuilder', 'doc': 'The parent builder of this builder.',
+             'default': None},
             {'name': 'source', 'type': str,
              'doc': 'The source of the data represented in this builder.', 'default': None})
     def __init__(self, **kwargs):
@@ -213,19 +216,22 @@ def __check_obj_type(self, name, obj_type):
             raise ValueError("'%s' already exists in %s.%s, cannot set in %s."
                              % (name, self.name, self.obj_type[name], obj_type))
 
-    @docval({'name': 'builder', 'type': 'GroupBuilder', 'doc': 'The GroupBuilder to add to this group.'})
+    @docval({'name': 'builder', 'type': 'hdmf.build.builders.GroupBuilder',
+             'doc': 'The GroupBuilder to add to this group.'})
     def set_group(self, **kwargs):
         """Add a subgroup to this group."""
         builder = getargs('builder', kwargs)
         self.__set_builder(builder, GroupBuilder.__group)
 
-    @docval({'name': 'builder', 'type': 'DatasetBuilder', 'doc': 'The DatasetBuilder to add to this group.'})
+    @docval({'name': 'builder', 'type': 'hdmf.build.builders.DatasetBuilder',
+             'doc': 'The DatasetBuilder to add to this group.'})
     def set_dataset(self, **kwargs):
         """Add a dataset to this group."""
         builder = getargs('builder', kwargs)
         self.__set_builder(builder, GroupBuilder.__dataset)
 
-    @docval({'name': 'builder', 'type': 'LinkBuilder', 'doc': 'The LinkBuilder to add to this group.'})
+    @docval({'name': 'builder', 'type': 'hdmf.build.builders.LinkBuilder',
+             'doc': 'The LinkBuilder to add to this group.'})
     def set_link(self, **kwargs):
         """Add a link to this group."""
         builder = getargs('builder', kwargs)

src/hdmf/build/classgenerator.py

@@ -35,7 +35,7 @@ def register_generator(self, **kwargs):
             {'name': 'spec', 'type': BaseStorageSpec, 'doc': ''},
             {'name': 'parent_cls', 'type': type, 'doc': ''},
             {'name': 'attr_names', 'type': dict, 'doc': ''},
-            {'name': 'type_map', 'type': 'TypeMap', 'doc': ''},
+            {'name': 'type_map', 'type': 'hdmf.build.manager.TypeMap', 'doc': ''},
             returns='the class for the given namespace and data_type', rtype=type)
     def generate_class(self, **kwargs):
         """Get the container class from data type specification.

src/hdmf/container.py

@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ class HERDManager:
     This class manages whether to set/attach an instance of HERD to the subclass.
     """
 
-    @docval({'name': 'herd', 'type': 'HERD',
+    @docval({'name': 'herd', 'type': 'hdmf.common.resources.HERD',
              'doc': 'The external resources to be used for the container.'},)
     def link_resources(self, **kwargs):
         """
@@ -389,7 +389,7 @@ def set_modified(self, **kwargs):
     def children(self):
         return tuple(self.__children)
 
-    @docval({'name': 'child', 'type': 'Container',
+    @docval({'name': 'child', 'type': 'hdmf.container.Container',
              'doc': 'the child Container for this Container', 'default': None})
     def add_child(self, **kwargs):
         warn(DeprecationWarning('add_child is deprecated. Set the parent attribute instead.'))

src/hdmf/spec/spec.py

@@ -106,7 +106,7 @@ class Spec(ConstructableDict):
     @docval({'name': 'doc', 'type': str, 'doc': 'a description about what this specification represents'},
             {'name': 'name', 'type': str, 'doc': 'The name of this attribute', 'default': None},
             {'name': 'required', 'type': bool, 'doc': 'whether or not this attribute is required', 'default': True},
-            {'name': 'parent', 'type': 'Spec', 'doc': 'the parent of this spec', 'default': None})
+            {'name': 'parent', 'type': 'hdmf.spec.spec.Spec', 'doc': 'the parent of this spec', 'default': None})
     def __init__(self, **kwargs):
         name, doc, required, parent = getargs('name', 'doc', 'required', 'parent', kwargs)
         super().__init__()
@@ -210,7 +210,7 @@ def is_region(self):
     {'name': 'dims', 'type': (list, tuple), 'doc': 'the dimensions of this dataset', 'default': None},
     {'name': 'required', 'type': bool,
      'doc': 'whether or not this attribute is required. ignored when "value" is specified', 'default': True},
-    {'name': 'parent', 'type': 'BaseStorageSpec', 'doc': 'the parent of this spec', 'default': None},
+    {'name': 'parent', 'type': 'hdmf.spec.spec.BaseStorageSpec', 'doc': 'the parent of this spec', 'default': None},
     {'name': 'value', 'type': None, 'doc': 'a constant value for this attribute', 'default': None},
     {'name': 'default_value', 'type': None, 'doc': 'a default value for this attribute', 'default': None}
 ]
@@ -372,7 +372,8 @@ def required(self):
         ''' Whether or not the this spec represents a required field '''
         return self.quantity not in (ZERO_OR_ONE, ZERO_OR_MANY)
 
-    @docval({'name': 'inc_spec', 'type': 'BaseStorageSpec', 'doc': 'the data type this specification represents'})
+    @docval({'name': 'inc_spec', 'type': 'hdmf.spec.spec.BaseStorageSpec',
+             'doc': 'the data type this specification represents'})
     def resolve_spec(self, **kwargs):
         """Add attributes from the inc_spec to this spec and track which attributes are new and overridden."""
         inc_spec = getargs('inc_spec', kwargs)
@@ -713,7 +714,8 @@ def __is_sub_dtype(cls, orig, new):
                 return False
             return new_prec >= orig_prec
 
-    @docval({'name': 'inc_spec', 'type': 'DatasetSpec', 'doc': 'the data type this specification represents'})
+    @docval({'name': 'inc_spec', 'type': 'hdmf.spec.spec.DatasetSpec',
+             'doc': 'the data type this specification represents'})
     def resolve_spec(self, **kwargs):
         inc_spec = getargs('inc_spec', kwargs)
         if isinstance(self.dtype, list):
@@ -1298,7 +1300,7 @@ def add_dataset(self, **kwargs):
         self.set_dataset(spec)
         return spec
 
-    @docval({'name': 'spec', 'type': 'DatasetSpec', 'doc': 'the specification for the dataset'})
+    @docval({'name': 'spec', 'type': 'hdmf.spec.spec.DatasetSpec', 'doc': 'the specification for the dataset'})
     def set_dataset(self, **kwargs):
         ''' Add the given specification for a dataset to this group specification '''
         spec = getargs('spec', kwargs)
@@ -1331,7 +1333,7 @@ def add_link(self, **kwargs):
         self.set_link(spec)
         return spec
 
-    @docval({'name': 'spec', 'type': 'LinkSpec', 'doc': 'the specification for the object to link to'})
+    @docval({'name': 'spec', 'type': 'hdmf.spec.spec.LinkSpec', 'doc': 'the specification for the object to link to'})
     def set_link(self, **kwargs):
         ''' Add a given specification for a link to this group specification '''
         spec = getargs('spec', kwargs)

src/hdmf/utils.py

@@ -96,7 +96,11 @@ def check_type(value, argtype, allow_none=False):
             return __is_float(value)
         elif argtype == 'bool':
             return __is_bool(value)
-        return argtype in [cls.__name__ for cls in value.__class__.__mro__]
+        cls_names = []
+        for cls in value.__class__.__mro__:
+            cls_names.append(f"{cls.__module__}.{cls.__qualname__}")
+            cls_names.append(cls.__name__)
+        return argtype in cls_names
     elif isinstance(argtype, type):
         if argtype is int:
             return __is_int(value)
@@ -706,6 +710,11 @@ def to_str(argtype):
                 return ":py:class:`~{module}.{name}`".format(name=name, module=module.split('.')[0])
             else:
                 return ":py:class:`~{module}.{name}`".format(name=name, module=module)
+        elif isinstance(argtype, str):
+            if "." in argtype:  # type is (probably) a fully-qualified class name
+                return f":py:class:`~{argtype}`"
+            else:  # type is locally resolved class name. just format as code
+                return f"``{argtype}``"
         return argtype
 
     def __sphinx_arg(arg):

tests/unit/test_io_hdf5_streaming.py

@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ class TestRos3(TestCase):
     def setUp(self):
         # Skip ROS3 tests if internet is not available or the ROS3 driver is not installed
         try:
+            # this is a 174 KB file
             urllib.request.urlopen("https://dandiarchive.s3.amazonaws.com/ros3test.nwb", timeout=1)
         except urllib.request.URLError:
             self.skipTest("Internet access to DANDI failed. Skipping all Ros3 streaming tests.")

tests/unit/utils_test/test_docval.py

@@ -835,7 +835,7 @@ def method(self, **kwargs):
             return []
 
         doc = ('method(arg1)\n\n\n\nArgs:\n    arg1 (:py:class:`~int`): an arg\n\nReturns:\n    '
-               ':py:class:`~list` or :py:class:`~list`, :py:class:`~bool` or :py:class:`~list`, Test: output')
+               ':py:class:`~list` or :py:class:`~list`, :py:class:`~bool` or :py:class:`~list`, ``Test``: output')
         self.assertEqual(method.__doc__, doc)
 
 
@@ -1128,3 +1128,51 @@ class Dummy2:
             pass
 
         self.assertTupleEqual(get_docval_macro('dummy'), (Dummy2, ))
+
+
+class TestStringType(TestCase):
+
+    class Dummy1:
+        pass
+
+    class Dummy2:
+        pass
+
+    def test_check_type(self):
+        @docval(
+            {
+                "name": "arg1",
+                "type": (int, np.ndarray, "Dummy1", "tests.unit.utils_test.test_docval.TestStringType.Dummy2"),
+                "doc": "doc"
+            },
+            is_method=False,
+        )
+        def myfunc(**kwargs):
+            return kwargs["arg1"]
+
+        dummy1 = TestStringType.Dummy1()
+        assert dummy1 is myfunc(dummy1)
+
+        dummy2 = TestStringType.Dummy2()
+        assert dummy2 is myfunc(dummy2)
+
+    def test_docstring(self):
+        @docval(
+            {
+                "name": "arg1",
+                "type": (int, np.ndarray, "Dummy1", "tests.unit.utils_test.test_docval.TestStringType.Dummy2"),
+                "doc": "doc"
+            },
+            is_method=False,
+        )
+        def myfunc(**kwargs):
+            return kwargs["arg1"]
+
+        expected = """myfunc(arg1)
+
+
+
+Args:
+    arg1 (:py:class:`~int` or :py:class:`~numpy.ndarray` or ``Dummy1`` or :py:class:`~tests.unit.utils_test.test_docval.TestStringType.Dummy2`): doc
+"""  # noqa: E501
+        assert myfunc.__doc__ == expected