Added pydantic backend for serialization, and other updates.

.gitignore

@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 examples/*
 !examples/*.py
+!examples/*.json
 
 *.so
 *.o

doc/API.rst

@@ -1,8 +1,59 @@
 .. _pyXDSM_API:
 
 pyXDSM API
+==========
+
+XDSM Class
 ----------
-.. currentmodule:: pyxdsm.XDSM
 
-.. autoclass:: pyxdsm.XDSM.XDSM
+The main XDSM class for creating Extended Design Structure Matrix diagrams.
+
+.. autopydantic_model:: pyxdsm.XDSM.XDSM
+   :members:
+   :undoc-members:
+   :show-inheritance:
+   :member-order: bysource
+   :exclude-members: model_config, model_fields, model_computed_fields
+
+Pydantic Models
+---------------
+
+SystemNode
+^^^^^^^^^^
+
+.. autopydantic_model:: pyxdsm.XDSM.SystemNode
+   :members:
+   :undoc-members:
+   :show-inheritance:
+
+ConnectionEdge
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+.. autopydantic_model:: pyxdsm.XDSM.ConnectionEdge
+   :members:
+   :undoc-members:
+   :show-inheritance:
+
+OutputNode
+^^^^^^^^^^
+
+.. autopydantic_model:: pyxdsm.XDSM.OutputNode
+   :members:
+   :undoc-members:
+   :show-inheritance:
+
+ProcessChain
+^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+.. autopydantic_model:: pyxdsm.XDSM.ProcessChain
+   :members:
+   :undoc-members:
+   :show-inheritance:
+
+AutoFadeConfig
+^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
+
+.. autopydantic_model:: pyxdsm.XDSM.AutoFadeConfig
    :members:
+   :undoc-members:
+   :show-inheritance:

doc/conf.py

@@ -20,8 +20,42 @@
 # Add any Sphinx extension module names here, as strings. They can be
 # extensions coming with Sphinx (named 'sphinx.ext.*') or your custom
 # ones.
-extensions.extend(["numpydoc"])
+extensions.extend([
+    "numpydoc",
+    "sphinx.ext.intersphinx",
+    "sphinxcontrib.autodoc_pydantic",
+])
 numpydoc_show_class_members = False
 
+# -- intersphinx configuration ------------------------------------------------
+
+intersphinx_mapping = {
+    "python": ("https://docs.python.org/3", None),
+    "pydantic": ("https://docs.pydantic.dev/latest/", None),
+}
+
+# -- autodoc_pydantic configuration -------------------------------------------
+
+# Show all configuration options for Pydantic models
+autodoc_pydantic_model_show_json = False
+autodoc_pydantic_model_show_config_summary = False
+autodoc_pydantic_model_show_config_member = False
+autodoc_pydantic_model_show_validator_members = False
+autodoc_pydantic_model_show_validator_summary = False
+autodoc_pydantic_model_show_field_summary = True
+autodoc_pydantic_model_members = True
+autodoc_pydantic_model_undoc_members = True
+
+# Settings for fields
+autodoc_pydantic_field_list_validators = False
+autodoc_pydantic_field_doc_policy = "both"  # Show both docstring and description
+autodoc_pydantic_field_show_constraints = True
+autodoc_pydantic_field_show_alias = True
+autodoc_pydantic_field_show_default = True
+
+# Validator settings
+autodoc_pydantic_validator_replace_signature = True
+autodoc_pydantic_validator_list_fields = True
+
 # mock import for autodoc
 autodoc_mock_imports = ["numpy"]

doc/examples.rst

@@ -15,6 +15,42 @@ This will output ``mdf.tex``, a standalone tex document that (by default) is als
    :scale: 30
 
 
+This example uses the `.to_json` method to serialize the XDSM to a JSON file:
+
+.. literalinclude:: ../examples/mdf.json
+
+This can be loaded programmatically using the static :meth:`~pyxdsm.XDSM.XDSM.from_json` method.
+Alternatively a command-line tool can be used to write the JSON to a PDF, a tikz file, or another JSON file.
+
+Command-line Usage
+------------------
+
+The JSON file can be used directly from the command line:
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+   python -m pyxdsm mdf.json -o mdf.pdf
+
+This generates a PDF from the JSON specification. Other output formats are also supported:
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+   # Generate only TikZ (no PDF compilation)
+   python -m pyxdsm mdf.json -o mdf.tikz
+
+   # Export to a different JSON file
+   python -m pyxdsm mdf.json -o output.json
+
+   # Generate PDF with default name (mdf.pdf)
+   python -m pyxdsm mdf.json
+
+For more options, use the ``--help`` flag:
+
+.. code-block:: bash
+
+   python -m pyxdsm --help
+
+
 More complicated example
 ------------------------
 

doc/requirements.txt

@@ -1,2 +1,3 @@
 numpydoc
 sphinx_mdolab_theme
+autodoc-pydantic