Docs: Refactor Reproducible Builds page (Diátaxis) (#10030)

* Docs: Refactor Reproducible Builds page

This is mostly cleaning this page up and removing some repeat concepts.

* Apply suggestions from code review

Co-authored-by: Benjamin Balder Bach <[email protected]>

* Apply suggestions from code review

Co-authored-by: Benjamin Balder Bach <[email protected]>

---------

Co-authored-by: Benjamin Balder Bach <[email protected]>

Author: ericholscher

docs/user/config-file/v2.rst

@@ -294,7 +294,7 @@ Configuration for Conda support.
 conda.environment
 `````````````````
 
-The path to the Conda environment file, relative to the root of the project.
+The path to the Conda `environment file <https://conda.io/projects/conda/en/latest/user-guide/tasks/manage-environments.html>`_, relative to the root of the project.
 
 :Type: ``path``
 :Required: ``true``

docs/user/guides/reproducible-builds.rst

@@ -1,43 +1,33 @@
 Reproducible Builds
 ===================
 
-Your docs depend on tools and other dependencies to be built.
+Your documentation depends on a number of dependencies to be built.
 If your docs don't have reproducible builds,
 an update in a dependency can break your builds when least expected,
 or make your docs look different from your local version.
-This guide will help you to keep your builds working over time, and in a reproducible way.
+This guide will help you to keep your builds working over time,
+so that you can focus on content.
 
 .. contents:: Contents
    :local:
    :depth: 3
 
-Building your docs
-------------------
+Use a ``.readthedocs.yaml`` configuration file
+----------------------------------------------
 
-To test your build process, you can build them locally in a clean environment
-(this is without any dependencies installed).
-Then you should make sure you are running those same steps on Read the Docs.
 
-You can configure how your project is built from the web interface (:guilabel:`Admin` tab),
-or by :ref:`using a configuration file <guides/reproducible-builds:using a configuration file>` (recommended).
-If you aren't familiar with these tools, check our docs:
+We recommend using a :doc:`configuration file </config-file/v2>` to manage your documentation.
+Our config file *provides you per version settings*,
+and *those settings live in your Git repository*.
 
-- :doc:`/intro/getting-started-with-sphinx`
-- :doc:`/intro/getting-started-with-mkdocs`
-- :doc:`/config-file/v2`
+This allows you to validate changes using :doc:`pull requests </pull-requests>`,
+and ensures that all your versions can be rebuilt from a reproducible configuration.
 
-.. note::
+Use a requirements file for Python dependencies
+-----------------------------------------------
 
-   You can see the exact commands that are run on Read the Docs by going to the :guilabel:`Builds` tab of your project.
-
-Using a configuration file
---------------------------
-
-If you use the web interface to configure your project,
-the options are applied to *all* versions and builds of your docs,
-and can be lost after changing them over time.
-Using a :doc:`configuration file </config-file/v2>` **provides you per version settings**,
-and **those settings live in your repository**.
+We recommend using a Pip :ref:`requirements file <pip:requirements-file-format>` or Conda :ref:`environment file <config-file/v2:conda.environment>` to pin Python dependencies.
+This ensures that top-level dependencies and extensions don't change.
 
 A configuration file with explicit dependencies looks like this:
 
@@ -68,130 +58,27 @@ A configuration file with explicit dependencies looks like this:
    sphinx_rtd_theme==1.1.1
    readthedocs-sphinx-search==0.1.1
 
-Don't rely on implicit dependencies
------------------------------------
-
-By default Read the Docs will install the tool you chose to build your docs,
-and other dependencies, this is done so new users can build their docs without much configuration.
-
-We highly recommend not to assume these dependencies will always be present or that their versions won't change.
-Always declare your dependencies explicitly using a :ref:`configuration file <guides/reproducible-builds:using a configuration file>`,
-for example:
-
-✅ Good:
-   Your project is declaring the Python version explicitly,
-   and its dependencies using a requirements file.
-
-   .. code-block:: yaml
-      :caption: .readthedocs.yaml
-
-      version: 2
-
-      build:
-        os: "ubuntu-22.04"
-        tools:
-          python: "3.11"
-
-      sphinx:
-        configuration: docs/conf.py
-
-      python:
-        install:
-          - requirements: docs/requirements.txt
-
-❌ Bad:
-   Your project is relying on the default Python version and default installed dependencies.
-
-   .. code-block:: yaml
-      :caption: .readthedocs.yaml
-
-      version: 2
-
-      sphinx:
-         configuration: docs/conf.py
-
-Pinning dependencies
---------------------
-
-As you shouldn't rely on implicit dependencies,
-you shouldn't rely on undefined versions of your dependencies.
-Some examples:
-
-✅ Good:
-   The specified versions will be used for all your builds,
-   in all platforms, and won't be updated unexpectedly.
-
-   .. code-block::
-      :caption: docs/requirements.txt
-
-      sphinx==5.3.0
-      sphinx_rtd_theme==1.1.1
-      readthedocs-sphinx-search==0.1.2
-
-   .. code-block:: yaml
-      :caption: docs/environment.yaml
-
-      name: docs
-      channels:
-        - conda-forge
-        - defaults
-      dependencies:
-        - sphinx==5.3.0
-        - nbsphinx==0.8.10
-        - pip:
-          - sphinx_rtd_theme==1.1.1
-
-❌ Bad:
-   The latest or any other already installed version will be used,
-   and your builds can fail or change unexpectedly any time.
-
-   .. code-block::
-      :caption: docs/requirements.txt
-
-      sphinx
-      sphinx_rtd_theme
-      readthedocs-sphinx-search
-
-   .. code-block:: yaml
-      :caption: docs/environment.yaml
-
-      name: docs
-      channels:
-        - conda-forge
-        - defaults
-      dependencies:
-        - sphinx
-        - nbsphinx
-        - pip:
-          - sphinx_rtd_theme
-
-Check the `pip user guide`_ for more information about requirements files,
-or our Conda docs about :ref:`environment files <guides/conda:creating the \`\`environment.yml\`\`>`.
-
-.. _`pip user guide`: https://pip.pypa.io/en/stable/user_guide/#requirements-files
-
 .. tip::
 
    Remember to update your docs' dependencies from time to time to get new improvements and fixes.
    It also makes it easy to manage in case a version reaches its end of support date.
 
-
-Pinning transitive dependencies
--------------------------------
+Pin your transitive dependencies
+--------------------------------
 
 Once you have pinned your own dependencies,
 the next things to worry about are the dependencies of your dependencies.
 These are called *transitive dependencies*,
 and they can upgrade without warning if you do not pin these packages as well.
 
 We recommend `pip-tools`_ to help address this problem.
-It allows you to specify a ``requirements.in`` file with your first-level dependencies,
+It allows you to specify a ``requirements.in`` file with your top-level dependencies,
 and it generates a ``requirements.txt`` file with the full set of transitive dependencies.
 
 .. _pip-tools: https://pip-tools.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
 
 ✅ Good:
-    All your transitive dependencies will stay defined,
+    All your transitive dependencies are defined,
     which ensures new package releases will not break your docs.
 
    .. code-block::
@@ -252,3 +139,27 @@ and it generates a ``requirements.txt`` file with the full set of transitive dep
           # via sphinx
       urllib3==1.26.13
           # via requests
+
+Check list ✅
+-------------
+
+If you followed this guide,
+you have pinned:
+
+* tool versions (Python, Node)
+* top-level dependencies (Sphinx, Sphinx extensions)
+* transitive dependencies (Pytz, Jinja2)
+
+This will protect your builds from failures because of a random tool or dependency update.
+
+You do still need to upgrade your dependencies from time to time,
+but you should do that on your own schedule.
+
+.. seealso::
+
+   :doc:`/config-file/v2`
+    Configuration file reference
+   :doc:`/builds`
+    Build process information
+   :doc:`/build-customization`
+    Customizing builds to do more