Documentation for new Devs :) Fw: Re: [steering-discuss] Candidacy for Board: Michael Meeks

Hi :slight_smile:
At last we got a sensible answer from one of the candidates for the BoD elections.

Non-candidates had been fairly unhelpful and hostile in response to a simple question turning something that could have been a quick Q&A session into a flame-war.  I think people get a bit over-defensive sometimes.

Anyway to make things a bit more open i am forwarding to you guys my response to Michael Meeks along with his statement. 
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

Hi Tom,

http://wiki.services.openoffice.org/wiki/Documentation/DevGuide/FirstSteps/Programming_with_UNO

and even that was a tad confusing imo.  Does the limited guidance on how to add a language or new translation push people into using UNO?

You'll find that guide on Alfresco, awaiting re-branding. Problem is,
I'm not sure how relevant it is to LibreOffice's current code base,
and that would need consultation with an experienced core dev to
arrive at an answer.

The other subjects you and Michael mentioned are worthwhile projects
for development. My past browsing tells me that a certain amount of
"new dev/translator" information is to be found on libreoffice.org and
on various pages in difference sections, but I'm sure that a single
one-stop guide would be a useful resource.

Hi :slight_smile:
David, don't worry!  These things that seem urgent are lower priority than paid work for clients.  maybe focus outside of TDF for a little while and then take a couple of days break to enjoy the sun (or the rain if it's like here)
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

Tom,

I'm in the middle of a move now, but I'll be taking a closer look at
the developer docs, to do some re-branding, and hopefully get
acquainted with the API enough to help out. Is there anything
specific you would like someone to look at?

Robert

Hi :slight_smile:
No.  I do not have a clue about how to start working as a dev in LO or what type of coding is best or how to get involved with Easy Hacks or how soon might be good to move on and where to move on to or what systems they use.  Hopefully there is enough external stuff that can be linked to in order to try to keep the guide fairly short and useful as a reference guide.

Someone has said that while devs might not be helpful in initially writing documentation they might become involved if the first published version is sufficiently inaccurate or misleading but close enough to be annoying.  It's not an ideal approach but i guess it means don't worry too much about being great.

I am wondering if it might be good to start it as a wiki guide a bit like Ubuntu's "Community Documentation"?
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile:

Hi :slight_smile:
No.  I have no ideas about specifics.

That's the short answer.  Don't even read my previous email until after the move, or perhaps never.
Regards from
Tom :slight_smile: