Bob wrote:
> 1) Documentation of the existing source code . This is primarily needed
> to help newcomers track and suggest fixes for bugs.
"Nuts & Bolts"
> 2) Improved help for Mozilla the browser. Don't underestimate the
> naievety of the average user. Millions of people who use computers are
> still not proficient with them and need carefully organised and indexed
> help.
I've got a section for that in our management roadmap, without a firm
title for it :)
> 3) Documentation of the various sub-systems with particular emphasis on
> their interfaces (e.g. XPCOM) for developers interested in using Mozilla
> the Virtual Application Framework.
I'm not quite sure what you mean here; it seems to correlate to those
who want to write web pages, including XUL interfaces, JS, etc. I don't
know jack about XPCOM and I am the first to admit that. :)
> For the record, my own interest is primarily in category 3. As a
> full-time programmer with 20+yrs experience I am very excited about the
> possibilities that this framework offers. You guys have done an
> absolutely brilliant job and I have ideas for applications lining up for
> which the Moz framework is an excellent candidate. I have been through
> the XUL tutorials and have done a bit of experimenting but cannot find
> any documentation that allows me to sit down and design even the basics
> of a real application and face the prospect of sitting down and playing
> with the interfaces to figure out how they work. e.g. how can I use the
> relevant XPCom interfaces to set up a profile system for my app which is
> similar to but separate from that used by Moz the Browser. That is not a
> specific request for information but an indication of what I, a
> potential developer, needs out of the documentation.
Care to help us out with documenting it? :) :)
> Perhaps a question that should be asked is whether a DocWeek can
> adequately cover all of those categories or whether each one should be
> the subject of its own DocWeek?
I really don't know if we can have DocWeeks for each of these subjects.
Granted, each is vitally important, but the goal of DocWeek is to
steer volunteers willing to do this sort of stuff to the resources they
need to do it. DocWeek is, imho, a coordination push, helping people do
the docs. It's really a bit difficult to have a DocWeek for nuts &
bolts, followed by a DocWeek on webdev stuff, etc., etc. We may lose
the fire.
I'm not discounting the idea...
> I offer the above in a spirit of friendly offering not of criticism.
>
> Bob Wilson
> Software Development Manager
> GamesNetwork Limited
> Nottingham
> England
You know, feedback from people like you is PRECISELY what we in
Documentation need the most. In my management roadmap draft (see bug
151101 for details,) I reiterated a point from the November 9, 2001
Developer Day in Mountain View, CA, USA. We need feedback from the
business community which hopes to develop Mozilla-based products. We
really don't have any sense of what documentation is needed for them.
Alex Vincent
author, JavaScript Developer's Dictionary (Sams Publishing)
http://www.jslab.org
Vallejo, CA, USA
