dhis2-devs team mailing list archive

[Jason Pickering <jason.p.pickering@xxxxxxxxx>]

Aha, there is a user manual, on yet another server! Never knew about this
one. :)

Wow, there really is a lot of material out there, and it is going to be a
monumental task to get into into some type of "proper" form.

Well, I am willing to try and coordinate the initial pass at getting the
documentation into DocBook, but it will have to be a team effort. This was
one of my arguments for moving towards this format, as it should allow
collaborative work. This will have to be done in my "spare" time, but I am
willing to give it a try, assuming that everyone else is on board, and this
is the direction the community wants to go. It will be a lot of work, but it
seems that the long-term advantages are abundant.

I would still be interested to hear what the technical writer to be engaged
by HMN has to say, as we definitely do not want to jump off a cliff here.



2009/9/11 Knut Staring <knutst@xxxxxxxxx>

> 2009/9/11 Lars Helge Øverland <larshelge@xxxxxxxxx>
>
>>
>>> The intrinsic problem with formats such as DockuWiki is that they are
>>> pretty much a one way street. It is an easy format to use, but not entirely
>>> easy to transform into something else. Pure XML formats such as DocBook
>>> separate entirely the content away from the presentation. Want Word? No
>>> problem. How about PDF? Can do. How about an integrated help system with the
>>> application? Should not be an issue as you have pure XML to work with.
>>>
>>
>> I want to emphasize this argument: We have decided earlier to have an
>> integrated dynamic help function in dhis2, and we already have a simple
>> solution implemented which we can build on. Still, syncronizing the content
>> of this help function with the general documentation effort would be
>> desirable (and necessary). Going for an xml format such as docbook and
>> locating the help file inside the repo will solve this issue. Choosing a
>> wiki will demand lots of manual work.
>>
>
> Ola and I agree with going for DocBook - so please don't hesitate, Jason.
> That said, we should look into ways of making it easy for people to
> contribute. An initial approach would be for contributors to send their
> material to you, and you make sure it fits in DocBook.
>
> The changes with release 2.0.2 does probably mean a new manual should be
> created. Some material from the previous user manual may still be suitable:
> http://folk.uio.no/knutst/pub/usermanual/
>
> Knut
>
>
>
>>
>> Lars
>>
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>
>
> --
> Cheers,
> Knut Staring
>