PDF Content Management Functions - Issue Resolution

The provided code is generally well-structured for converting Markdown content into a styled PDF using the WeasyPrint library. However, let's analyze potential improvements and validate the functionality.

Code Analysis

1. Function Overview:

   • The create_pdf_file function takes a string of Markdown content as input, converts it to HTML, styles it, and generates a PDF file stored in a BytesIO stream.

2. Libraries Used:

   • markdown: Converts Markdown text to HTML.
   • weasyprint: Renders HTML to PDF.
   • BytesIO: Allows PDF storage in memory.

3. Styling and Layout:

   • CSS is integrated directly into the HTML structure to maintain a consistent appearance in the PDF.
   • Styles include typography, color themes, and responsive layouts tailored for printing.

Review of Previous Attempts

If previous attempts had issues, they could stem from:

• Invalid Markdown syntax.
• Incorrect CSS rules not rendering properly in PDF.
• Errors in library installations or environment configurations.

Proposed Solution

Recommendations

1. Error Handling: Incorporate exception handling to manage issues during HTML conversion or PDF generation.
2. Dependency Checks: Ensure the necessary libraries (markdown, weasyprint) are installed and properly loaded.
3. Markdown Validation: Validate the input string to ensure it is valid Markdown before processing.
4. Test Cases: Create unit tests to validate the behavior of the function using a range of Markdown inputs.

Revised Code Implementation

from io import BytesIO
from markdown import markdown
from weasyprint import HTML, CSS


def create_pdf_file(content: str) -> BytesIO:
    """
    Create a PDF file from the provided Markdown content.
    Converts Markdown to styled HTML, then HTML to PDF.
    
    Parameters:
        content (str): The Markdown content to convert.
        
    Returns:
        BytesIO: A buffer containing the PDF file.
    """

    # Validate input Markdown content
    if not isinstance(content, str) or not content.strip():
        raise ValueError("Input content should be a non-empty string.")

    try:
        # Convert Markdown to HTML
        html_content = markdown(content, extensions=["extra", "codehilite"])

        # Define styled HTML document
        styled_html = f"""
        
            
                
            
            
                {html_content}
            
        
        """

        # Create PDF buffer from rendered HTML
        pdf_buffer = BytesIO()
        HTML(string=styled_html).write_pdf(pdf_buffer)
        pdf_buffer.seek(0)
        return pdf_buffer

    except Exception as e:
        raise RuntimeError(f"An error occurred during PDF generation: {str(e)}")

Example of Code Usage

To use the create_pdf_file function in a practical context, you can follow the example below:

markdown_content = """
# Sample Document

This is a sample Markdown document with various elements.

## Subheading

Here is some code:

```python
print("Hello, World!")

Another Subheading

• List item 1
• List item 2
• List item 3 """

Create PDF from Markdown

pdf_file = create_pdf_file(markdown_content)

Save PDF to file

with open("output.pdf", "wb") as f: f.write(pdf_file.getbuffer())

## Conclusion

The revised implementation enhances error handling and input validation while maintaining the original functionality. By following best practices, the PDF generation process is made robust, allowing for seamless integration into applications requiring document generation.