text: #!/usr/bin/env python
  main = """This is Larch main help"""
  
  import six
  
  from . import helpTopics
  Help_topics = helpTopics.generate()
  
  class Helper(object):
      """Helper looks up an displays help topics
      and/or pydoc help on larch/python objects"""
  
      TypeNames = {'<numpy.ndarray>': '<array>',
                   '<interpreter.Procedure>': '<procedure>'}
  
      def __init__(self, _larch=None, *args, **kws):
          self._larch = _larch
          self.buff = []
  
      def help(self, *args):
          "return help text for a series of arguments"
  
          for arg in args:
              if arg is None:
                  continue
              if isinstance(arg, six.string_types) and str(arg) in Help_topics:
                  print(' -- TOPICAL HELP ', arg)
                  self.addtext(Help_topics[arg])
              else:
                  self.show_symbol(arg)
  
      def show_symbol(self, arg):
          "show help for a symbol in the symbol table"
          if isinstance(arg, six.string_types):
              sym = self._larch.symtable.get_symbol(arg, create=False)
          else:
              sym = arg
  
          if sym is None:
              self.addtext(" '%s' not found"  % (arg))
  
          else:
              atype = str(type(sym))
              atype = atype.replace('type ','').replace('class ','').replace("'",'')
              atype = self.TypeNames.get(atype, atype)
  
              if atype in ('<tuple>', '<list>', '<dict>', '<array>'):
                  out = "%s %s" % (out, atype)
              elif hasattr(sym, '__call__') and sym.__doc__ is not None:
                  self.addtext(repr(sym))
                  out = sym.__doc__
              else:
                  out = repr(sym)
          self.addtext("  %s" % out)
  
      def addtext(self,text):
          self.buff.append(text)
  
      def getbuffer(self,delim='\n'):
          out = delim.join(self.buff)
          self.buff = []
          return out
  
  #     "show help on topic or object"
  #     outbuff = []
  #     has_larch = larch is not None
  #
  #     for a in args:
  #
  #             outbuff.append(pydoc.help(a))
  #     else:
  #
  #     try:
  #         f = open(name)
  #         l = f.readlines()
  #
  #     except IOError:
  #         print("cannot open file: %s." % name)
  #         return
  #     finally:
  #         f.close()
  #     show_more(l,filename=name,pagelength=pagelength)
  