Comment 3 for bug 1246713

OK. How do you want this to be solved?

I think that this needs to be split into 2 tickets:
One for something similar to intersphinx and another similar for extlinks

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For intersphix, we need some sort of configuration:

intersphinx_mapping = {
      'Crypto' : ('http://py.crypto.com/api', None)
      'twisted: ('http://tm.tld/documentation/current/api', None)
      }

When it fails to resole L{Crypto.some.stuff} it can check intersphinx inventory.
Same for unresolved L{twisted.some.other.stuff}.

Note that this only works for project using Sphinx for api...

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For extlinks, we need a mapping

extlinks = {'Crypto': 'http://pythonhosted.org/pycrypto/%s.html'}

So that unresolved L{Crypto.some.thing} will link to http://pythonhosted.org/pycrypto/Crypto.some.thing.html

One option for extlinks is to map it to a function:

extlinks = {'Crypto': 'plugin:crypto_resolver.mapper'}

def crypto_resolver(name):
    return '%s/%s' % ('http://base', '/'.join(name.split('.')))

crypt_resolver could then do a trial and error and check remote URL for name-module.html or name-class.html and return only valid links... this will be slow... but should be flexible.

If exlinkg mapping start with plugin: it will try to import that method.

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I see that PyCrypto uses epydocs and not pydoctor... so it does not have an objects.inv...

Also, epydocs produces some ugly urls ... Crypto.Cipher.AES.AESCipher-class.html and Crypto.Cipher.blockalgo-module.html .. so is not easy to create a simple mapping

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I will keep this ticket for linking to generic 3rd party apis and will create a new ticket targeted for supporting intersphinx objects.inv