[lazarus] docs/tutorials

Michael A. Hess mhess at miraclec.com
Sun Dec 16 00:48:46 EST 2001


nova812 wrote:
> 
> This is a list of most of the topics I'm planning to cover in the
> tutorial I've started.
<snip>

Why????

Maybe you missed or didn't understand the email from Van Canneyt but
please look at the Free Pascal documentation that already exists.
Everyone of the items you have indicated is covered in the current
documentation. It is written very well and is also available in book
form.

> I see that Html format is undesirable by some.

I would advise you to try to use something else. If you plan on writing
it in a tagged language such as HTML you might as well learn LaTex and
use that instead. You have much better formatting and different output
formats available to you.

What is really needed is tutorials and documentation for Lazarus. Not
for Pascal programming. While Lazarus is kin to Delphi it does have some
differences and that is what needs to be documented in a tutorial so
that Delphi programmers or Pascal programmers will know how to use
Lazarus.

Also the classes and component library code needs to be better
documented. While the current documentation is built nightly it doesn't
do much other than show the various classes, methods, and variables
available. The documentation to indicate what they do and how they are
used is what is missing. This is the kind of documentation that is
needed the most. Not only by new users but also but us veterans who tend
to forget what we have done over the last several years.   ;-)

I am also looking at the possiblity of moving the current documentation
method from PasDoc to fpDoc. PasDoc as a tool seems to have stopped
development. fpDoc is a tool written primarily for FreePascal in the
first place. It also uses external XML files to store the documentation
instead of inline comments. This helps keep the source code from looking
cluttered. I am working with MVC right now in determining if we can
develop an easy to use XML editor to be able to write this
documentation. If you want to help with serious documentation for the
Lazarus project that is where it is really needed.

-- 
==== Programming my first best destiny! ====

Michael A. Hess      Miracle Concepts, Inc.
mhess at miraclec.com   http://www.miraclec.com






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