Hi, If so decided I can go with the Maemo Developer Guide instead of Reference Manual. User Guide goes too close to the end user documentation.
Cheers, //Jarmo >-----Original Message----- >From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of >ext Andrew Flegg >Sent: 16 June, 2009 14:12 >To: List for community development >Cc: Tikka Jarmo (Nokia-D/Helsinki) >Subject: Re: The role of the docmaster > >On Tue, Jun 16, 2009 at 12:02, Murray >Cumming<[email protected]> wrote: >> >> You are saying that it's a "reference manual" because it references >> stuff, where "references" actually means "contains"? As a native >> English speaker and someone who has spent time among the humans, I >> don't think that makes sense. > >Agreed :-) > >> A "reference manual" is usually something that _people_ refer to for >> details that they cannot remember precisely. That's why dictionaries >> and grammar rule are in a reference library, but not a novel. > >Absolutely. A "reference manual" in (technical) English is a >defined term meaning a definitive API reference, possibly >grouped together into a series of related chapters. Good >Javadoc can be a reference manual, as is the majority of _Java >in a Nutshell_[1] and the "Reference section" in the _BBC >Micro User Guide_[2]. > >A "user/developer's guide" is a structured walk-through of >building up a developer's knowledge to be able to use a >system. It introduces concepts and practices, and builds them >up so that the developer ends up relying on the "reference manual". > >The _BBC Micro User Guide_ is a great example of this: the >first half of the book introduces the concepts and how they >relate, the second half is a reference guide to the details of >everything you can do with it. > >HTH, > >Andrew > >[1] http://oreilly.com/catalog/9780596007737/ >[2] http://central.kaserver5.org/Kasoft/Typeset/BBC/Contents.html > >-- >Andrew Flegg -- mailto:[email protected] | >http://www.bleb.org/ Maemo Community Council chair > _______________________________________________ maemo-community mailing list [email protected] https://lists.maemo.org/mailman/listinfo/maemo-community
