Rob & Punky et al. -
This is so cool! I've been working on a TOC on the side for a few weeks,
but I see the time has come to let it out to play with the other TOCs :-)
I have a few big-picture editorial comments before I do.
The "installation" unit is the most crucial. I think there should be a
chapter or series of chapters on installing Tomcat standalone, that
covers *everything* or almost everything start-to-finish. Then we also
need separate chapters for installing behind each Web server. Then come
chapters on administration and advanced configuration issues.
We should make it clear that it is *HIGHLY* recommended to install
standalone first. This will help the users debug their setups. It will
also help us organize the docs. Each "behind" chapter will assume you've
read the "standalone" chapter(s).
Developing Web Applications should be separate from Deploying Web
Applications In Tomcat.
There needs to be a strong division in the docs between User mode and
Developer mode (as someone else mentioned).
I'd like to organize this TOC as a little more abstract than a simple
table of contents. Each section should be organized to contain not just
our original documents, but also a list of other resources on that
topic. This will be a good way to get a useful set of docs up and
running quickly. In fact, I imagine that many of the chapters will
remain unwritten for a while, since there may be existing documents, or
articles, or FAQ entries that cover the topic (even if not exclusively).
Once we get a list of the "chapters" we can also list whether the
contents would differ between TC3 and TC4. I expect that there are more
similarities than differences. For instance, in configuring connectors
or deploying webapps or classpath organization. (On classpaths, even
though TC4 has a different order of precedence, the explanatory
paragraphs will be the same, as will the ones describing classloading
inside a web app.) If this expectation bears out, it will be an argument
in favor of merging the TC3 and TC4 docs into a single CVS project.
In short, I propose that writing a TOC is a very important first step,
and that this TOC should live a life of its own as a standalone
document, containing links to other docs, and meta-information like
links to other docs as well.
Right now that doc is in text format, as Punky's rewrite of Rob's TOC.
I'll integrate my organizational thoughts and post a revised version
soon. I'll use the prefix DOC: in my subject line, which should help us
keep these threads straight.
- Alex
--
Alex Chaffee mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
jGuru - Java News and FAQs http://www.jguru.com/alex/
Creator of Gamelan http://www.gamelan.com/
Founder of Purple Technology http://www.purpletech.com/
Curator of Stinky Art Collective http://www.stinky.com/
