Re: Need for newbie friendly docs (was Newbie struggling...)
От | Geoff Caplan |
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Тема | Re: Need for newbie friendly docs (was Newbie struggling...) |
Дата | |
Msg-id | 000e01c0ce6e$fe548410$0339a8c0@ajanta обсуждение исходный текст |
Ответ на | Re: Need for newbie friendly docs (was Newbie struggling...) ("Oliver Elphick" <olly@lfix.co.uk>) |
Список | pgsql-general |
Oliver Elphick > There is an enormous amount of background knowledge assumed when > you document an application, and this is necessary, or else every document > would become a Windows-like spoon-feeder, which would spend so much > time on basic stuff that it would never cover the real meat. > > I'm not sure that it is either possible or desirable for PostgreSQL to > attempt to satisfy a newbie's need for basic training in Unix. > Well, I have spent a lot of time writing instructional material, and I think it is a question of the right balance. You obviously have to assume the basics, like file management. An issue like the one I got stuck on, on the other hand, is not so basic (not covered in the thousands of pages of Unix documentation I consulted) and could have been explained with a single line example. In many ways it is a matter of mindset - when experienced people are writing it is difficult for them to visualise the roadblocks that will catch out those with less knowledge. More beginner friendly docs don't need to be much more verbose - it's about testing them and pinpointing the points of difficulty. The docs have room for many pages on how to do a SELECT, which is covered in detail in every SQL primer, so there is surely no reason why setup should not be covered a bit more clearly. Postgres is not so hard to use, but it is a bit of a pig to administer, and the docs are part of the problem. But I do understand that top quality docs require specific skills and resources which it is perhaps unreasonable to expect from an open source project. It will probably take a commercial effort from GreatBridge or a book to improve things. GreatBridge have made a start. I hope they continue to test and develop their docs, and don't regard the job as done... Geoff Caplan
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