What factors are most important to run a documentation project?
I have a number of questions about creating a project for documentation of an open-source project.
Launchpad itself deals with its documentation by using a help wiki that links to the launchpad-
So my questions mostly deal with the best alternatives for creating documentation and what factors led Launchpad to its particular solution.
I want to begin creating documentation for FBReader (fbreader.org). There are two separate reasons I thought Launchpad would be the best place for this.
First, FBReader comes in more than a dozen different varieties, each tailored to a specific device and OS. So material documenting a particular feature might use the same text for all the distributions but different screen captures for each one. Using Launchpad to keep track of all the variants seemed like a good idea, especially as some features are not implemented in every version for every device.
Second, there are already ten translations of the mini-help file that comes with FBReader and of its interface strings (aka messages). Launchpad's translation sharing seems the best approach I've seen to facilitating localisation to new languages. And getting the new documentation translated would probably also be well-served by the same tools.
In a single language, with only the latest version to describe, I think a wiki may be the best solution, especially because people are familiar with how to contribute. But how is Launchpad planning to deal with translations of Help pages?
Wiki's are also very page-oriented. If the documentation runs only 20-50 pages (is Launchpad Help larger than 50 pages?), do you think it is worth breaking the documentation into smaller segments (sections or paragraphs) when managing it like software code?
Managing all the variants possible for FBReader inclines me toward a Launchpad-type solution. But are there any writing-
What wiki software is used with Launchpad Help? What advantages does it have for a documentation project as compared to other wiki software?
I appreciate whatever responses you can provide to help us with our decision. Also I'd greatly appreciate it if you can point to any other sites that discuss managing an OSS documentation project.
Thanks,
Roger Sperberg
Question information
- Language:
- English Edit question
- Status:
- Answered
- Assignee:
- Matthew Revell Edit question
- Last query:
- Last reply:
- Whiteboard:
- Here's a guy who might know a thing or two about documentation. Assigned to Matt. — Danilo 20090501 flacoste Pinged Matt about it. 2009-06-03 gary pinging Matt :-)
Can you help with this problem?
Provide an answer of your own, or ask Roger Sperberg for more information if necessary.