Re: [Firebird-docs] Where to start?

[Armando H. <arm...@ac...>]

Hi Paul,

Paul Vinkenoog wrote:
> Hi Armando,
> 
> 
  > We made a rather informal to-do list last summer. If you point your
> newsreader to news.atkin.com you may still find it. If it's expired I
> can repost it.

I think the to-do list is what follows, but I'm not sure:

 > Why not take a look at PostgreSQL:
 > http://www.postgresql.org/docs/7.3/static/index.html
 > - A tutorial, great for newbies with databases in general and Firebird in
 > particular
 > - From the users point of view, DML, DDL
 > - From the admin point of view, setup, optimize, deploy
 > - Programmer Guide, API
 > - SQL Reference
 > - Developer Guide, also with infos for people willing to contribute to Fb
 >
 >
 >>For now, the free Borland IB6 beta docs are still very usable with
 >>Firebird, provided you also have the Release Notes etc. that come with
 >>the consecutive Firebird versions. But InterBase and Firebird _will_
 >>diverge more and more, so in a couple of years' time this is really
 >>going to be a problem.

Please confirm if I got the right one.

> 
> We could make an updated version of this list. When it comes to
> picking tasks, let's not forget:
> 
> - The Quickstart Guide will be coming our way soon (if Helen survives
>   the conversion but I guess she will ;-)), so we don't have to write
>   a beginners's guide - we only have to update it.

Strangely enough, one of my main concerns about Firebird Docs is beginner docs 
as I find hard to persuade people to try it without good documentation for 
beginners.

> 
> - After that, we'll also inherit Using Firebird, This is a big one, my
>   initial thought is that we should split it up in several docs.
>   Anyway, this too is a lot of material we don't have to write anymore.

I've got it and the reference from the IBPhoenix CD and found them quite useful. 
If there is already some sort of agreement with IBPhoenix on this subject, I 
could eventually start revising or updating it.

> 
> - IBPhoenix will produce an API Guide/Reference and an SQL Reference.
>   That doesn't mean that we can't do the same, but it seems more
>   logical to concentrate on other tasks. After all, both require a lot
>   of work and the IBPhoenix docs may not be free, but at least they will
>   be there.
> 
> - One existing project that could use input is the Glossary.

Sorry about this Paul, but I'll try to give some help outside the glossary 
project. That is not really the kind of area I would work on (I hate glossaries 
and glossaries hate me in return).

regards

Armando