Getting the help file and documentation written for Programmer’s Notepad has always been a challenge. It’s an open source project, with a fairly small number of contributors (often just one)! In general I have prioritised creating code, fixing bugs and making releases over writing documentation – there is a help file and it documents some commonly missed things but certainly not all.
Often users have offered to help with documentation but making help files isn’t the easiest and I think I scared most off with the submission process (although I did always offer to accept plain text)! To resolve that I present to you the Programmer’s Notepad Community Documentation wiki. Powered by MoinMoin, the wiki allows me to export its contents as DocBook XML ready for transformation into the help file.
The idea here is that it’s now a really quick step for anyone to document a feature they just stumbled across, or also a feature that they have contributed. It’s also an easy way for people to contribute to PN if they don’t have code/web skills.
The only requirement is that you sign up (a very quick and simple process), this is to try to avoid wiki spam.
Add your input here: Programmer’s Notepad Community Documentation
Great initiative Simon!!
Indeed good documentation is really needed at this step, and the docbook automatic export is a must. That could nearly become a standalone documentation solution for collaborative projects. How to write the doc online and get it with the software…
I hope many people will fill in this doc now. Thanks for giving us work!