Subject: Linux-Activists - DOC Channel digest. 93-4-1-17:47
From: "Linux Activists" <[email-masked]>
To: "Linux-Activists" <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 1 May 1993 23:24:46 +0300

Topics:
	 Possible publication of LDP documents by O'Reilly
	 LPG possible organization

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From: [email-masked] (Michael K Johnson)
Subject: Possible publication of LDP documents by O'Reilly
Date: Sat, 1 May 1993 20:29:01 +0300

   From: [email-masked] (Andy Oram)

   I will spend some time deciding what to do, to really offer you
   support.  When we normally get proposals from authors, we don't just
   stand back and say, "Show me the book when it's done."  We look at
   outline and early drafts, and help set the direction.  Maybe I
   shouldn't do that here -- you feel you are doing a good job already,
   and I respect that.  Moreover, I don't really have free time to work
   on books besides O'Reilly's (I am doing a little volunteer work on the
   side, but that was something I started before coming to O'Reilly).

I see where you are coming from...  I suppose we want to show that we
can produce something high-quality on our own :-).  However, you are
now in the forum in which we discuss outlines and drafts and set the
direction of the books, and we welcome you heartily.

Since I imagine that more than a few people have joined the list in
the past few weeks, I will mention this again for everyone's benefit:
All of the work that we have done that is available to the whole list
is stored at ftp.stolaf.edu:/pub/linux-doc/*    We would ask that
everyone *not* spread this information around -- the docs will be
uploaded to more conventional sites like tsx-11 and nic and sunsite
when they are ready.  Also, with most of the books, if you are
particularly interested, you simply ask the author...

   As for format -- PostScript or whatever -- don't worry much about that
   now.  We are slowly converting to SGML at O'Reilly.  We hope to write
   filters that can translate back and forth between SGML and existing
   mark-up languages (TeX, texinfo, and troff).  We have to do that to
   produce our own books, so we can translate yours too.

We are using LaTeX with a special style sheet.  If you can convert
TeX, out format should be quite easy to work with.  I only suggested
camera-ready or pre-compiled copy as an option to save you work and
keep your costs down.  We'll see what happens when the time comes...
(I'm using that phrase a lot, aren't I...)

What is the best way to learn about SGML?  As in, what books/other
publications are there to be read?  I've heard plenty about it, but I
don't know much yet, other than phrases like "government standard",
and feel my ignorance ;-)

michaelkjohnson

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From: [email-masked] (Michael K Johnson)
Subject: LPG possible organization
Date: Sat, 1 May 1993 20:44:26 +0300

   Here's the outline of the book. The purpose of the outline is give writers an
   idea how the "Linux Programming Guide" could be organized. An alternative is
   to have people write articles dealing with the different aspects of the API.
   mkj would act as editor and supreme commander :-)

I would rather not try to steal his outline, for a few reasons.  One
is that I'd really feel that it was stealing intellectual property,
regardless of what anyone else thinks.  Another is that I don't think
that that format fits what we are trying to do, necessarily.  I'd
rather wait until I have a good collection of subjects to write on
to start organizing.  It has been my experience in this doc project
that when we make a nice outline before looking into what we are
trying to write about, we end up with an outline.  When we tackle
finding the ideas wen need to write about, make a few tiny false
starts, look at our (perhaps partially written) ideas, and then
organize them and keep going, things get written.  A little healthy
anarchy at the beginning of the project can contribute to order and
substance later on, if it is properly managed.

   I believe somebody volunteered to write a manual on terminal i/o. Perhaps that
   could become part of the LPG. I'm not sure whether documenting ncurses could
   be considered part of the LPG since curses is not really part of the API (or
   is it?). Maybe we should start be defining what the API is. Is gdbm part of it?

The API is whatever needs documentation and is available and closely
associated with linux.  I imagine that ncurses should have its own
manual, but if it becomes part of the standard linux library, then
that manual should be edited into the LPG.  I don't think we need to
document glibc --- the FSF is doing that just fine --- but we should
document linux-specific extensions.  The LPG that I would put on the
net would not include the FSF's glibc documentation, but if it is
published, that version might perhaps include the glibc documentation.
That's not a decision I can really make yet.

   A very common question is how to convert from pure BSD behavior to that of
   Linux (mostly POSIX). This includes sgtty->termios, union wait, reliable vs
   unreliable signals, ioctls, lockf and fcntl vs flock.

Yes, these are definitely some of the things that I want to cover.  I
don't intend to try to do it all myself, but with help it can be done.

I'd like people to be aware as they read comp.os.linux and simply
watch for the kinds of questions people ask that might be answered by
the LPG, and whenever you have an idea, mail me.  I will sort out the
ideas after I get quite a few, and arrange them in different ways
until I see a possible useful arrangement, and then will suggest it to
the DOC channel for discussion.  I can edit any fragments sent to me
and turn out a good book if people send me ideas and fragments to
suplement the ones that have occured to me.  I, of course, will also
be looking for these ideas actively.

michaelkjohnson

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