Re: Community Documentation Architecture, was LaTeX templates, was Docmentation/FAQs

[Josh Berkus <..hidden..>]

Josh,

> For every person that is user LateX, there are a 1000 using XML and
> specfically for technical documentation DocBook has taken over. Every
> major publisher excepts *only* three forms of source for their material:
>
> Docbook
> OO (using MS Word Templates)
> MS Word

That's not accurate.  Pearson, for example, accepts LaTeX but not Docbook.

> However, it is not a difficult requirement for developers to be expected
> to document in docbook or to provide the user "manual" in docbook.

I disagree pretty strongly.  What Docbook lacks for some reason I've never 
understood is any easy-to-use GUI tools.  For LedgerSMB to grow, we want 
to have our user base contributing documentation, *especially* the users 
who are not capable of contributing code.   Adopting a doc framework which 
requires significant knowledge of markup to contribute documentation is 
not the way to do this.

We need to use something which allows doc contributors to "just write" and 
not need them to acquire specialized technical knowledge beyond knowledge 
of LedgerSMB.   So, HTML, LaTeX, OO, wiki, whatever, but NOT Docbook.

-- 
--Josh

Josh Berkus
PostgreSQL @ Sun
San Francisco