[MNT] docstring test skipping

[MatthewMiddlehurst]

Describe the issue

A lot of docstrings just skip the docstests, likely because they include soft dependencies or rely on external factors. We could just separate there out into a separate test and possibly make it periodic.

Suggest a potential alternative/fix

From a very quick look there are pytest modules available which could help i.e. https://github.com/scientific-python/pytest-doctestplus.

Additional context

No response

[adityagh006]

Hi! I'd love to work on this issue. Could you clarify whether the goal is to enable doctests for all currently skipped docstrings or to move them into separate test files? Also, should we prioritize using pytest-doctestplus for handling soft dependencies? Let me know how I can proceed! Thanks!

[MatthewMiddlehurst]

The goal is to run all the docstring example tests in their own workflow instead of the main test. The linked package is just an example of a utility that could help. There are probably many different ways to go about doing this, though messy solutions will probably get rejected.

[adityagh006]

Got it, thanks for the clarification! So the plan is to:
1.Gather all the skipped docstring tests.
2.Move them to a separate GitHub Actions workflow.
3.See if pytest-doctestplus helps with handling soft dependencies.
4.Set up the workflow to run periodically (maybe daily or weekly).

Does this sound good to you? Let me know if there’s anything you'd like me to tweak before I get started on the PR!

[MatthewMiddlehurst]

All the docstring tests should be moved (i.e. no examples should be run on our current pytest workflows). All the strings skipping the doctest should be removed yes. I would not lock in pytest-doctestplus as a solution immediately, It would be good to see what else is available for docstring testing.