discuss: A new project: Xbox-Linux HOW-TO
Subject:
Re: A new project: Xbox-Linux HOW-TO
From:
Tabatha Persad ####@####.####
Date:
29 Jan 2003 21:06:52 -0000
Message-Id: <1043874486.4564.22.camel@mysticchild>
On Wed, 2003-01-29 at 02:24, Jukka Aho wrote:
> This kind of detailed technical information is definitely
> not available in the official Xbox user manual.
>
> I am now envisioning a relatively largish "Xbox-Linux HOW-TO"
> that would have four main sections:
The document scope and sections sound great; you appear to have planned
this out very well!
> If all this sounds reasonable, I would like to register the
> project with the name "Xbox-Linux HOW-TO".
I'd like for you to get more feedback from the discussion list, but I
think this would be a good document to add to the collection. If others
agree, you'd want to consider providing a link to a draft copy of the
document, if possible.
> Besides refining the structure, the primary concern is now having
> the right tools available for actually writing the documentation.
>
> I have previous experience on writing validated HTML/CSS documents
> with decent structural markup and accessibility issues in mind,
> but DocBook SGML/XML is a strange new world for me. I have skimmed
> through the Author Guide, and apparently diving in to this really
> needs some time.
DocBook XML is highly favored for this kind of work. You want also to
consider a license for your document (GFDL works well).
> For various practical reasons, I would primarily want to work on
> the Windows platform (boo! hiss!) for now. I understand that the
> common UNIX tools for producing DocBook SGML could be used under
> the Cygwin environment, although I would really like more of a
> WYSIWYG style approach where you can pick up predefined styles
> from menus and keyboard shortcuts and see the formatted result
> while editing - instead of having to look at the actual markup
> all the time. Any ideas? Is there any software on either platform
> that would allow doing this, while still using the DocBook DTD?
>
> In any case, I would very much like to use the predefined markup
> elements in DocBook - such as notification and warning boxes,
> different styles for captured screen output or sample keyboard
> input etc. - to their fullest extent, where applicable.
Since you mention it, try this link on my site:
www.merlinmonroe.com/formatting.shtml . There's a link here for SGML on
NT, and some ideas to get you started on what's out there to work with.
You could install the processing tools (Openjade and the catalogs etc)
in Cygwin, and use one of many XML editors (some available for Windows
too), but use the command-line tools for conversion. That would
probably be the easiest way, unless someone else has a better idea!
I'm one of a few who like Emacs for working on SGML/XML. With the PSGML
plug-in, it gives me a lot of handy tools for parsing, syntax
highlighting, and verifying the nesting of tags. The good news is you
can get Emacs/XEmacs for Windows too! I can't speak for the plug-in
though.
Interestingly, installing RedHat 8.0 made my documentation tools work
the smoothest they ever have. Everything works without me having had to
build a single thing, which was nice. But if you can't work in Linux,
hopefully the above will give you some creative solutions.
> The Author Guide had a mention about a new author being able
> to submit the work in "any format" and someone voluntarily
> converting it to DocBook for starters. Is there such a service?
> Would I be better off using it or starting out in DocBook?
That's another option. Once submitted, your document would pass by me
for review, and we can definitely help with the markup issue if you
simply can't work with the tools. After that, maintenance is fairly
easy, and someone (like me!) can always check your updates for you to
ensure they're working properly until you are using the tools yourself.
All you have to do is let us know!
> I would appreciate any comments you might have. Thanks in
> advance.
I hope some of the above helps, but if not, feel free to email me
off-list and I'll be glad to answer any other questions you may have.
Get some feedback here in the meantime on your project, to address the
wants of users at-large.
Have fun!
--
Tabatha Persad
Web: www.merlinmonroe.com
Linux Documentation Project Review Coordinator (http://www.tldp.org)
Gnu Writing Movement Contributor (http://gwm.gnu.org)
Linux Counter Area Manager US:wa (http://counter.li.org)
