Debian documentation
In another thread, Christian Schwarz had written:
>IMHO it would be nice to have more debian specific documentation than we
>have now. ...
>If I'm right we only have these documents at the moment:
>* Debian Policy Manual
>* dpkg Programmer's Manual
>* Debian GNU/Linux FAQ
>* a few (very short) text file on our bug reporting system
>It would be nice to add the following:
>* Debian User's Manual
> (Installation, Handling dselect/dpkg, Installation foreign
> packages with alien, setting up /etc/init.d/* stuff, etc.)
>* User's Guide on Developing .deb's
> (with introduction/guide style than the programmer's manual, which
> is more like a reference manual)
>...
============================
Jaldhar Vyas had written:
>I think there is a big need for documents that follow the "HOWTO" style
>and philosophy, i.e. (short, practical, and task-oriented) but are
>Debian-specific. Subjects that could use this treatment are:
>* Making a Debian Package (I've already done this. See my other post to
> the list.)
>* Compiling a kernel the Debian way.
>* Using dpkg (Editorial: At this point I'd tell newbies not to use
> dselect at all. I've had almost 0 problems because I've used dpkg
> throughout.)
>* Setting up X.
>* How to report bugs.
>* Setting up PPP.
>And I'm sure there are others. I'd be willing to work on some of these.
============================
I had sent this in to debian-user in response to a request to break up
the voluminous debian-user mailing list into lists on various topics:
>I'm thinking about working on the FAQ this weekend, and one thing I'd
>like to do is to break it up into at least two parts:
>--one which is general, and
>--one which focusses only on dselect and dpkg.
>Of course, we could break it up further. For example, we could have
>--an FAQ on installation and booting, and
>--an FAQ on using the Debian archives.
>--an FAQ on other Debian utilities or Debian practices.
>--an FAQ on printing and text utilities
>--an FAQ on TCP/IP problems, including PPP.
>From my posts on other lists, one would also conclude that I believe
>we also need
>--an FAQ on package development.
>An argument could be made that it might be a good idea to have user
>lists that were broken up along the same lines as the FAQs.
Not many people responded to this but those who did seemd to favor it.
============================
The bottom line:
1. There seems to be good agreement that our current documentation
set needs to be both broken up and enlarged in scope, and there
seem to be a number of folk who are willing to help.
2. Christian's call for a mailing list specifically to deal
with Debian documentation seems like an efficient way to begin dealing
with this. However, it might be a good idea for this group
to report to debian-devel (and then possibly disband as a separate mailing
list) after some preliminary ideas have been sketched out. So how does
this happen?
3. I'd like to get some more feedback on my idea that if/when a
better documentation structure is devised, it might provide the natural
basis for restructuring the user (and possibly even the developer)
mailing lists. _Please_?
Susan Kleinmann
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