Automate docs

[ssolson]

Documentation Build System Updates

Major Changes

• Automated documentation builds using GitHub Actions
• Documentation is now automatically deployed to GitHub Pages when changes are pushed to main branch
• Removed built documentation files from repository in favor of automated builds

Technical Details

New Files Added

• .github/workflows/docs.yml - GitHub Actions workflow for automated builds
• environment.yml - Conda environment specification for reproducible builds

Configuration Updates

• Added documentation build patterns to .gitignore
• Updated GitHub Pages configuration to serve from gh-pages branch root (need to update MHKiT docs repo on PR merge)
• Added .nojekyll file to support underscore-prefixed directories

Build Process

• Documentation is now built using Sphinx in a controlled conda environment
• Build process includes:
  • Python 3.10
  • Sphinx 8.1.3
  • All required Sphinx extensions (bibtex, matlabdomain, rtd theme, etc.)
  • Automatic submodule initialization

Deployment

• Built documentation is automatically deployed to GitHub Pages
• Deployment occurs on pushes to main branch
• Preview builds available for pull requests

Benefits

• Consistent build environment across all contributors
• Automated deployment reduces manual steps
• Cleaner repository without built files
• Easier contribution process for documentation updates

Local Development

Contributors can still build documentation locally using:

conda env create -f environment.yml
conda activate mhkit-docs
cd docs
make html

[akeeste]

@ssolson Thanks for updating this process. A couple minor comments on how these updates mesh with a couple commits already on this branch

[ssolson]

Great review Adam. I believe I have addressed you concerns. lmk!

[akeeste]

Looks good now, thanks @ssolson