Subject: doc.status
From: wirzeniu@klaava (Lars Wirzenius)
To: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 4 Dec 1992 02:52:45 EET

X-Mn-Key: doc

doc.status                                         -*-Outline-*- 
Status of Linux Documentation project
Lars Wirzenius

Last update of this line: December 3, 1992.

E-mail corrections to [email-masked].

* Rambling

        It's been a while since I last posted this.  Sorry about that,
        I got carried away with studies and work (lame excuse, I know
        :-).

        As far as I understand, what people are doing at the moment is
        to outline and write things.  If and when they get something
        done, they'll holler.

* Short outline of Linux docs

** Getting Started

        The be-all and end-all of Linux installation instructions.
        Covers installation and has brief tutorials on using and
        administering Linux.  This book is all that a novice should
        have to read in order to get going.

** User's Guide

        The full story of how to use Linux, except for individual
        program usage.  (That is, the UG covers usage in general, not
        specific program in particular.  The Reference Manual is for
        that.)

** Administrator's Guide

        How to keep Linux up and running after it has been first
        installed.  Installing new software, doing backups, etc.

** Programmer's Guide

        How to write programs under Linux.  Not urgent.

** Local Guide

        This is mostly for systems with many users.  Similar to the
        LaTeX Local Guide.  Summarizes differences between the real
        system and the "generic" systems described in the rest of the
        documentation.  Things like lists of hardware, local hacks,
        installed software, etc.

** FAQ

        This one everybody is hopefully at least vaguely familiar
        with.

** Reference Manual

        Manuals for programs and so on.  Man pages, info documents,
        etc.

** Hacker's Guide

        Kernel documentation.  Essentially tells how the kernel works
        so that hackers can hack it easier.

** Linux Readings

        Miscellaneous other Linux related documents that don't fit
        into other books.  Things like my interview with Linus in
        Linux News #3, a history of Linux (everybody urge Linus to
        write it, my urgings aren't working :), Who's Who of Linux, a
        Linux bibliography.

** Global Index

        An index that covers all other manuals, to make it easier to
        find things that are covered by many manuals.

* Format of documents

        It seems that LaTeX is what most people favor.  However, each
        writer should use whatever format he finds comfortable.  The
        important thing is not to flame about the format, but to get
        things done.  Once we have good text in some format, we can
        convert it.

* Miscellaneous notes

        We could ask people in comp.unix.* and other suitable groups
        what they think should and could be part of a "full" free Unix
        documentation set.  I understand that there are already
        contacts with the GNU Project.

* Slaves (a.k.a. volunteers)

        The e-mail address and full name are followed by a list of the
        tasks the person has done, is doing, is committed to do,
        and/or has expressed an interest in doing.  Status information
        is indicated in brackets.

        If somebody is mentioned as a coordinator for a document, that
        usually means they will probably write much of it as well.
        Except that I'm not going to write most the doc project as a
        whole :).  For those parts that do not have their own
        coordinator, I will serve as one, but this probably means only
        that I'm looking for volunteers to take over that part of the
        job.

** [email-masked] (Lars Wirzenius)

        Coordinator of the doc project in whole.
        INFO-SHEET [in my crontab, posted every other Monday].
        Intro to sysadmin in Getting Started [outlining].
        Administrator's Guide [outlining].

** [email-masked] (Matt Welsh)

        Coordinator of Getting Started [outlining].

** [email-masked] (Larry Greenfield)

        Coordinator of User's Guide.
        Intro to using Linux in Getting Started.

** [email-masked] (Michael K Johnson)

        Hacker's Guide [working on it].
        "Style guide" for typesetting the docs [working on it].

** [email-masked] (Dan Miner)

        Hacker's Guide [working on it].

** [email-masked] (Gavin Thomas Nicol)

        Coordinator of the Reference Manual.
        Man page to Texinfo conversion program.

** [email-masked] (Owen LeBlanc)

        Proofreading (spelling and grammar checking).  [offering
        services]

** [email-masked]

        "I could write some basic stuff ... on setting up uucp and/or
        mail".  [offering services]

** [email-masked] (Karl Fogel)

        Intro to Unix for ex-DOS users (to be part of Getting
        Started).