numpy / numpy/numpydoc

`FunctionDoc` round-trip strips empty lines from Parameters and breaks doctest

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Description

numpydoc 1.9.0rc0.dev0 git tip (2025-05-16)
CPython 3.12

A round-trip through FunctionDoc improperly removes empty lines after elements of Parameters.
This in turn breaks doctest.

In [1]: def f():
   ...:     """
   ...:     Hello world
   ...:     
   ...:     Parameters
   ...:     ----------
   ...:     foo : int
   ...:         foo desc
   ...:         
   ...:         >>> x = [1, 2]
   ...:     
   ...:     bar: int
   ...:         bar desc
   ...:     """
In [2]: import doctest
In [3]: doctest.testmod()
Out[3]: TestResults(failed=0, attempted=1)
In [4]: from numpydoc.docscrape import FunctionDoc
In [5]: print(FunctionDoc(f))
.. function:: f
    


Hello world

Parameters
----------
foo : int
    foo desc
    
    >>> x = [1, 2]
bar: int
    bar desc

In [6]: f.__doc__ = str(FunctionDoc(f))
In [7]: doctest.testmod()
ValueError: line 13 of the docstring for __main__.f has inconsistent leading whitespace: 'bar: int'

Contributor guide

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First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start with numpydoc.docscrape.FunctionDoc and reproduce the round-trip shown in the issue under Python 3.12. Trace how empty lines in the Parameters section are rendered, then verify that assigning the rendered text back to f.doc leaves doctest.testmod() passing without inconsistent leading whitespace.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
python
Domain
documentation
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
3/5
Estimated time
1-2 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Clearly specified
Newbie friendliness
55/100

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