We understand the number of steps required to get the book into pdf. We've been chatting about pushing out a site using CommentPress.
There will be an announcement soon that will make it a lot easier to get the book. Tyler Matlik wrote: > I've only just started looking into Lift, and my first impression is > the documentation needs some help. Since I am new, I'm hoping you > will find this feedback as a potential common case for anyone > evaluating the Lift web framework. > > 1. The "API Documentation" link on the liftweb.net home page points to > the maven generated documentation, but there are no links to the > scaladocs there that I can find. Maybe this is my inexperience with > maven, but there doesn't appear to be much there as a whole. > > 2. The "StartingWithLift.pdf" document linked on the lift home page is > good. I do have a few suggestions: > > - Simply copying and pasting the commands into the command line can > be problematic. For example, when I tried to start the 'todo' > tutorial, I ended up with the following. Notice that most of the > pasted text has a space between each letter, and the hyphen character > is not the ascii '-' but the unicode '-' (appears longer on my > system). This same text in the "Exploring Lift" book doesn't appear > to have this problem. > > mvn a r c h e t y p e : g e n e r a t e -U \ > -DarchetypeGroupId=n e t . l i f t w e b \ > -D a r c h e t y p e A r t i f a c t I d= l i f t -a r c h e t y p e > -b a s i c \ > -D a r c h e t y p e V e r s i o n =0.10 \ > -D r e m o t e R e p o s i t o r i e s=h t t p : / / s c a l a -t o o > l s . o r g / repo-r e l e a s e s \ > -DgroupId=com . l i f t w o r k s h o p \ > -D a r t i f a c t I d=todo \ > -D v e r s i o n =0.1-SNAPSHOT > > - In general, I think it is good practice to have such documentation > online in HTML format, particularly the quick-start and entry level > docs. A PDF viewer isn't always installed on a system by default, and > requiring it means there is one more software requirement before a new > developer can get started. Granted, this is a fringe case. I > wouldn't abandon a PDF format, and since the same material is > available in the full "Exploring Lift" document, the more complete > document could fill that purpose. > > - You may want to consider using page space more economically within > the PDF doc. There is a lot of dead white space around the text. > This can be useful for jotting down notes, but it also requires more > paper when printing. Using more of the white space is good for both > economical and ecological greenness. Granted, the StartingWithLift.pdf > document isn't huge, but every little bit helps. > > 3. The wiki index page could benefit from some updates and > reorganization. For example: > - The unconference is over. The link points to David Pollak's blog > (a good link to have), but is unrelated to the unconference. > - The marketing-like text is located in two different places. The > section comparing it to the various web frameworks at the start and > the "Advanced Framework" section further down. > - The getting started stuff should probably be near the top instead > of being more than half way down the page. Those just starting should > have the information they need practically jump out at them. > - There is some redundant stuff on the wiki index page and the > liftweb.net home page. If I've read it once, I don't need to read it > again, unless more detail is provided or it is presented in a > different angle (e.g. how to sell it to management). I would recommend > leaving all the marketing stuff on the home page or create a separate > "About Lift" page, and the wiki can focus on getting things done. > This is particularly true since the liftweb.net home page appears to > give the link to quotes greater visual importance than the API > documentation or wiki links. > > 4. Is there some reason why the wiki cannot provide the "In Progress > Book" in PDF or HTML format? It took me two attempts and only after a > significant effort was I able to generate the PDF (Ubuntu has an older > and incompatible version of lyx as default, and Windows had all kinds > of install and performance issues due to my various security > software). The lyx files are available under the Creative Commons > License, so I would assume there isn't any legal restrictions. If > network bandwidth is an issue, maybe a torrent link could be set up > instead of hosting it directly (not ideal but better than nothing). I > will say kudos on the book authors. I haven't had a chance to digest > it yet, but my initial impression is it's just what I've been looking > for. > > The long and the short of it is I felt like I needed to dig and jump > through hoops to get to the best documentation available. All the > information is there; it just isn't easily (or obviously) accessible > with a few mouse clicks from the liftweb.net home page. I am a > persistent guy, but I do like my immediate gratification. > > I am looking forward to getting my feet wet with Lift! --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Lift" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/liftweb?hl=en -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
