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Table of contents
Objectives
- Build up a long-term community of people who care and constantly improve Boost documentation and tools.
- Achieve an unified look and feel between docs and Boost resources, integrating them as much as possible.
- Quality documentation
- Provide correct, current and readable documentation for Boost C++ libraries, tools, environment and organization.
- Generate Glue docs that see Boost as one unified entity, providing real-world examples, best practices for common tasks and tutorials on how to combine Boost libraries in order to build high-quality C++ applications.
- Provide a publicly available, vendor-neutral reference manual for the standard C++ library, STL concepts, data types and algorithms as part of the Boost library documentation.
- Make it easier for users to navigate the enormous amount of Boost documentation.
- Use the latest version of standards and support old browsers.
- Include attractive logos and diagrams. Although Boost libraries are of such good quality that they do not need any marketing at all, let's face it: people are drawn to fancy names and eye-catching pictures.
- Provide correct, current and readable documentation for Boost C++ libraries, tools, environment and organization.
- Documentation tools and support
- Improve the docs tool chain, simplifying and integrating it, thereby lowering the barrier for people willing to help us.
- Develop tools to automate common tasks and to make life easier for Boost authors. Document writers should concentrate on generating content and not on fighting with tools.
- Work to make doc tools Boost-agnostic. We believe that they are useful beyond the Boost community and would welcome anyone who wishes to use, extend or support them.
- Improve the docs tool chain, simplifying and integrating it, thereby lowering the barrier for people willing to help us.
- Generate formal documents about C++ documentation best practices.
- Offer our help to library authors. This includes translations, proof-reading, proposing examples and tutorials for their libraries and helping them with the docs tool chain.
- Offer a place where those who are not experts in C++ can help the Boost community. In general, the tasks we do here do not involve template metaprogramming or other complex C++ machinery. Dessigners, artists, teachers, web experts, Python programmers and Boost users are very welcome to contribute.
- Write docs, include rationales, use our own tools. If we want to improve boost docs, we should start by showcasing best practices in this project.
- Enjoy our work. If we are not having fun while improving Boost docs something has gone terribly wrong.
Resources
At IBD, we use several open-source tools to organize our efforts. In this section the purpose of each resource is explained. When possible, IBD resources will be interlinked and have a common look and feel, allowing a consistent experience for both users and developers.
Although the only resources that every IBD developer must use are the Boost docs subversion repository, the Boost docs list and the project wiki, we encourage you to read this section and use the rest of the tools; combined, they are a complete community development suite.
Project output
Subversion repository
Our version control system. It is integrated to Trac allowing you to browse the code from the Web.
Boost Vault
Boost Docs and subproject releases Glue Docs Vault.
It has an integrated counter so we can track how many people are using our work.
On-line Docs
We maintain an online version of the documentation that already conforms to the new documentation guidelines.
Communication channels
Project Wiki
Main organization tool.
This contains formal information about subprojects and the work being done by each developer.
The main purposes are to showcase our progress and to avoid work duplication.
It has a structured layout to organize our workflow. New project ideas are not added directly, but rather after thoughtful discussion on other channels.
Boost-docs list
This is were the actual work is shared and discussed. It acts as the boost-devel mailing list for our project.
Mailing lists are a good medium for daily work. It is a working space. All our progress must pass through the boost-docs list to be viewed by every person involved in the project.
You can sign in here.
Trac Tickets system
We are currently working on a formal proposal to take
advantage of Trac Ticket system for the project.
We will use it for translation tracking, subproject control, feature requests and bug reporting.
RSS news feed
The IBD news feed consists of formal announcements about the things going on in the project. They are very short, direct headlines.
Some of the common subjects are new members, new subprojects, help requests and
completed translation.
Community building tools
Community Blog
A record of the things that happen behind the scenes, our next objectives and the social and philosophical aspects of IBD.
The subjects of the blog are things like summaries of private conversations, possible directions for the project and new ideas.
It includes behind-the-scenes content. It is a place where you can see what is going on in the developer's mind and a tool to make us a tidy community by giving contributors an informal forum in which to express themselves.
There is a precedent of using blogs for philosophical discussions, and it is a lot easier for people not related to the project to comment on our progress there. We encourage you to participate both as a blogger or by commenting on our posts.
Linked in network
A service for maintaining professional networks. We will use it to organize
our contacts from the project.
Statistics
IBD at ohloh
Statistics on our project, code and contributors.
It offers a stack and kudos system too, which can be used as community-building tools.
Statcounter
Web page activity statistics.
Currently these are integrated into the community blog only. In the future, we will gather information from the main page of Boost's website, the wiki pages and Boost's online documentation.
List activity
Messages per day plot of Boost-docs list.
How to help
There are some small projects waiting for one or two people to take on.
- Boost-specific WikiMacros ( more information, project wiki page )
- Quickbook as a WikiProcessor for our Trac ( more information, project wiki page )
- Trac Syntax Coloring for Boostbook, Quickbook and Jamfiles. ( more information, project wiki page )
- Google Search Box project ( more information, project wiki page )
- Syntax-highlighting project ( more information, project wiki page )
Other ways to help us
- Volunteer as a browser tester ( More information in the browser testing chart page )
- Document translator ( More information in the docs translations project page )
- Comment on our work. We need constant feedback. Please offer your opinion on the boost-docs list.
- A lot of the documentation on this wiki is being written by a non-native English-speaker. Just reading and correcting typos and grammar will be appreciated.
If you are...
- ... a web designer, you can help us with our HTML docs projects.
- ... an artist, you can propose graphics to make boost look fancier.
- ... a teacher, you can write tutorials for the Glue Docs project.
- ... a Boost user, you can provide us with real-life examples for the Glue Docs project.
- ... a Python programmer, you can help us to integrate things into Trac.
Downloads
Boost Docs 2007-07-01 at Boost Vault
svn export http://svn.boost.org/svn/boost/sandbox/boost_docs/tags/boost_docs_2007-07-01
Release notes
- Initial version of Boost.DocTest
- Initial version of Boost Style
- Modular CSS design.
- CSS-based admonitions and navigation graphics.
- Quickbook source stylesheet.
- Boostbook improvements
- Almost Valid XHTML 1.1 output.
- New header and footer based on beta.boost.org.
- GroupedLinks select boxes for Boost Libraries and Section quick jumping.
- Google Search box over our docs.
- Box wrapper-based blurbs that allow us to include rounded corners, drop shadows, etc.
- Alternative syntax-highlighting, including most common IDEs.
- Chapter logo support.
- Parameter clean-up.
- A new PDF stylesheet based on the unified look-and-feel project.
- Quickbook improvements
- Initial support for SVG images in HTML docs.
Installation Notes
Copy the contents of the Boost Docs zipped file into an up-to-date Boost package.
Project Wiki
- Boost Docs repository
We are working on several Boost tools to support the new features and improve their usability. This work is stored in Boost's sandbox. Go to the Boost docs repository page to learn how it is organized. - Unified look-and-feel project
Although Boost libraries are independent entities, together they build a superb, unified library. If we want people to understand this, we must provide an unified style for our docs and resources. This project will define the guidelines for the new look and feel of Boost. - Doc Translations
If we want to have an unified look and feel in Boost docs, we need all documentation to be in a standard format. We are translating HTML-based docs to Docbook format. There are a lot of documents to translate and we need more volunteers to help in the process. If you want to participate, go to the doc translations project page. (We now have a bunch of tools that make the process painless, so please jump in!) - Glue Docs
Documentation for Boost libraries is an impressive tool for learning about how individual libraries work. However, we are missing integration documentation that sees Boost as a whole. How we do common tasks, which libraries are powerful when combined, and real-life examples are important documentation that we cannot expect Boost authors to provide. The objective of the Glue Docs project is to build the necessary meta-library documentation for Boost. - Standard C++ Library Docs
Provide a publicly available, vendor-neutral reference manual for the Standard C++ library, STL concepts, data types and algorithms as part of the Boost library documentation. - Documentation Best Practices
Formal documents about C++ documentation best practices. - Documentation Tools
Projects to improve the docs tool chain, simplifying and integrating it and lowering the barrier for people willing to help us. - Subprojects
There are some small subprojects targeted to solving specific needs. Go to the subprojects page to participate in them. Go to the subprojects page to participate in them. - Browser-testing
Volunteers periodically test the new docs on every platform and for every browser. - Libraries Logos
Go to the logo playground page to find proposed logos for Boost libraries.
People
The people listed below are working on this project or have done work on the tools that this work builds. Some of them may not endorse all the proposals of the project, but all have given their blessing to it. If you are working for this project and do not appear here, please add yourself to the list. If you are listed and want to share your email address and picture here, please add them.
Andrew Sutton
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asutton at cs dot kent dot edu
Cédric Venet
Linked In Profile
cedric dot venet at student dot ecp dot fr
Darren Garvey
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email unknown
Dave Abrahams
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Linked In Profile
dave at boost-consulting dot com
Douglas Gregor
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email unknown
Eric Niebler
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Linked In Profile
email unknown
Filip Konvička
email unknown
Glyn Matthews
Linked In Profile
glyn dot matthews at gmail dot com
Jacob Robert Voytko
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jakevoytko at gmail dot com
Joel de Guzman
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Linked In Profile
email unknown
John Maddock
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email unknown
Matias Capeletto
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Linked In Profile
matias dot capeletto at gmail dot com
Paul Bristow
pbristow at hetp dot u-net dot com
Peter Foley
boost at ifoley dot id dot au
Rene Rivera
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Linked In Profile
email unknown
Stjepan Rajko
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stjepan dot rajko at gmail dot com
Stuart Dootson
stuart dot dootson at gmail dot com
Team Mascot
Mafalda
Team Mascot
Mafalda is an English springer spaniel from Argentina, currently living with Matias. She is helping him with the project wiki page. She just barks once in a while, but that is a lot.
Acknowledgments
Big thanks to Daniel James, Janek Kozicki, João Abecasis, Matt Doyle and Michael Marcin. You are welcome to became active members of the project, in which case please add yourselves to the list above. Thanks to all the others who have helped us in discussion on the Boost list.
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Resources
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