docs: Replace package list with packages.spack.io (#40251)

For a long time, the docs have generated a huge, static HTML package list. It has some
disadvantages:

* It's slow to load
* It's slow to build
* It's hard to search

We now have a nice website that can tell us about Spack packages, and it's searchable so
users can easily find the one or two packages out of 7400 that they're looking for. We
should link to this instead of including a static package list page in the docs.

- [x] Replace package list link with link to packages.spack.io
- [x] Remove `package_list.html` generation from `conf.py`.
- [x] Add a new section for "Links" to the docs.
- [x] Remove docstring notes from contribution guide (we haven't generated RST
      for package docstrings for a while)
- [x] Remove referencese to `package-list` from docs.

lib/spack/docs/.gitignore

@@ -1,4 +1,3 @@
-package_list.html
 command_index.rst
 spack*.rst
 llnl*.rst

lib/spack/docs/basic_usage.rst

@@ -45,7 +45,8 @@ Listing available packages
 
 To install software with Spack, you need to know what software is
 available.  You can see a list of available package names at the
-:ref:`package-list` webpage, or using the ``spack list`` command.
+`packages.spack.io <https://packages.spack.io>`_ website, or
+using the ``spack list`` command.
 
 .. _cmd-spack-list:
 
@@ -60,7 +61,7 @@ can install:
    :ellipsis: 10
 
 There are thousands of them, so we've truncated the output above, but you
-can find a :ref:`full list here <package-list>`.
+can find a `full list here <https://packages.spack.io>`_.
 Packages are listed by name in alphabetical order.
 A pattern to match with no wildcards, ``*`` or ``?``,
 will be treated as though it started and ended with

lib/spack/docs/build_systems/inteloneapipackage.rst

@@ -25,8 +25,8 @@ use Spack to build packages with the tools.
 The Spack Python class ``IntelOneapiPackage`` is a base class that is
 used by ``IntelOneapiCompilers``, ``IntelOneapiMkl``,
 ``IntelOneapiTbb`` and other classes to implement the oneAPI
-packages. See the :ref:`package-list` for the full list of available
+packages. Search for ``oneAPI`` at `<packages.spack.io>`_ for the full
-oneAPI packages or use::
+list of available oneAPI packages, or use::
 
   spack list -d oneAPI
 

lib/spack/docs/conf.py

@@ -48,9 +48,6 @@
 os.environ["COLIFY_SIZE"] = "25x120"
 os.environ["COLUMNS"] = "120"
 
-# Generate full package list if needed
-subprocess.call(["spack", "list", "--format=html", "--update=package_list.html"])
-
 # Generate a command index if an update is needed
 subprocess.call(
     [

lib/spack/docs/contribution_guide.rst

@@ -310,53 +310,11 @@ Once all of the dependencies are installed, you can try building the documentati
    $ make clean
    $ make
 
-If you see any warning or error messages, you will have to correct those before
+If you see any warning or error messages, you will have to correct those before your PR
-your PR is accepted.
+is accepted. If you are editing the documentation, you should be running the
-
+documentation tests to make sure there are no errors. Documentation changes can result
-If you are editing the documentation, you should obviously be running the
+in some obfuscated warning messages. If you don't understand what they mean, feel free
-documentation tests. But even if you are simply adding a new package, your
+to ask when you submit your PR.
-changes could cause the documentation tests to fail:
-
-.. code-block:: console
-
-   package_list.rst:8745: WARNING: Block quote ends without a blank line; unexpected unindent.
-
-At first, this error message will mean nothing to you, since you didn't edit
-that file. Until you look at line 8745 of the file in question:
-
-.. code-block:: rst
-
-   Description:
-      NetCDF is a set of software libraries and self-describing, machine-
-     independent data formats that support the creation, access, and sharing
-     of array-oriented scientific data.
-
-Our documentation includes :ref:`a list of all Spack packages <package-list>`.
-If you add a new package, its docstring is added to this page. The problem in
-this case was that the docstring looked like:
-
-.. code-block:: python
-
-   class Netcdf(Package):
-       """
-       NetCDF is a set of software libraries and self-describing,
-       machine-independent data formats that support the creation,
-       access, and sharing of array-oriented scientific data.
-       """
-
-Docstrings cannot start with a newline character, or else Sphinx will complain.
-Instead, they should look like:
-
-.. code-block:: python
-
-   class Netcdf(Package):
-       """NetCDF is a set of software libraries and self-describing,
-       machine-independent data formats that support the creation,
-       access, and sharing of array-oriented scientific data."""
-
-Documentation changes can result in much more obfuscated warning messages.
-If you don't understand what they mean, feel free to ask when you submit
-your PR.
 
 --------
 Coverage

lib/spack/docs/index.rst

@@ -54,9 +54,16 @@ or refer to the full manual below.
    features
    getting_started
    basic_usage
-   Tutorial: Spack 101 <https://spack-tutorial.readthedocs.io>
    replace_conda_homebrew
 
+.. toctree::
+   :maxdepth: 2
+   :caption: Links
+
+   Tutorial (spack-tutorial.rtfd.io) <https://spack-tutorial.readthedocs.io>
+   Packages (packages.spack.io) <https://packages.spack.io>
+   Binaries (binaries.spack.io) <https://cache.spack.io>
+
 .. toctree::
    :maxdepth: 2
    :caption: Reference
@@ -72,7 +79,6 @@ or refer to the full manual below.
    repositories
    binary_caches
    command_index
-   package_list
    chain
    extensions
    pipelines

lib/spack/docs/package_list.rst

@@ -1,17 +0,0 @@
-.. Copyright 2013-2023 Lawrence Livermore National Security, LLC and other
-   Spack Project Developers. See the top-level COPYRIGHT file for details.
-
-   SPDX-License-Identifier: (Apache-2.0 OR MIT)
-
-.. _package-list:
-
-============
-Package List
-============
-
-This is a list of things you can install using Spack.  It is
-automatically generated based on the packages in this Spack
-version.
-
-.. raw:: html
-   :file: package_list.html

lib/spack/docs/replace_conda_homebrew.rst

@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
    SPDX-License-Identifier: (Apache-2.0 OR MIT)
 
 =====================================
-Using Spack to Replace Homebrew/Conda
+Spack for Homebrew/Conda Users
 =====================================
 
 Spack is an incredibly powerful package manager, designed for supercomputers