HI Lyle,

> Nigel Hamilton wrote:
> >   * POD less than one page - guaranteed
>
> Does this include the synopsis? This could potentially make things very
> tricky. Also one page will need to be defined in rows and columns as the
> size of a page depends on your resolution or windows size.
>

Good points. I was going to try and take the Gist of some modules first to
see what is practical. A one page synopsis is definitely too short - but I
really think less is more - especially when reading web text. The Gist::
module text is more like a road sign that someone passes at high speed - it
shouldn't slow you down. Ideally the visible bit at the top of the POD is
enough for people to cut-and-paste and be on their way.


> How about max one page synopsis and one page description? Not including
> credits and links to other modules, otherwise most your page is going to
> be taken up by copyright, credits and links. A cut a paste synopsis for
> a complicated module like Data::FormValidator would need a couple of
> examples and would again take up a lot of the page.
>

Yes. I think the goal would be to extract the 95% case of module usage. What
do 95% of the people who use this module actually/really/truthfully use it
for? What is the primary itch that this module can scratch?

I think a good starting point is to look at how you use a module - would
other's do the same? If so, then this is the beginning of finding the Gist
of the module.


>
> I'm looking at doing the Gist::Email you suggested based on Email::Stuff
> that I recently patched. Or would that be Gist::Email::Stuff? Is one
> rule to keep the naming of the gisted module?


Yes. I think the Gist name is just a pointer to the actual module. So that
would be Gist::Email::Stuff. If someone never downloads the Gist module but
is pointed to the real underlying module then I count that as a success.

You could imagine someone searching Google for a problem (i.e., "program to
send email attachments")  then arriving at Gist::Email::Stuff (because the
synopsis is SEOed for the problem space) but then quickly upgrading to
Email::Stuff (optimised for the solution space).

I don't know how this will work out in practice. But the next step is to try
taking the Gist:: out of some modules and come up with a checklist (tm).


NIge
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