From: X1 <list.rb@...>
Date: 2007-07-16T09:16:49+09:00
Subject: Re: graphing/charting application

This may be OT at this point on the conversation but,  I've used XML/ 
swf charts for quite a while now and really like it

Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 15, 2007, at 6:42 PM, Chad Perrin <perrin@apotheon.com> wrote:

> On Mon, Jul 16, 2007 at 06:34:22AM +0900, Peter Seebach wrote:
>> In message <20070715212911.GC18755@demeter.hydra>, Chad Perrin  
>> writes:
>>> RDoc were written specifically to ease the process of creating
>>> documentation, to provide a solid beginning to that documentation  
>>> so that
>>> half the work is already done for someone that intimately knows the
>>> software, but the end result is that many people seem to think  
>>> that *is*
>>> the documentation and never bother finishing the job.   
>>> Documentation is
>>> an important part of any development effort -- almost as important  
>>> as the
>>> software itself.  Documentation is important for the same reason  
>>> readable
>>> code is important, and yet people who will argue for days on end  
>>> about
>>> the best way to eke that last bit of readability out of code will  
>>> turn
>>> around and go on producing software without even the most  
>>> rudimentary
>>> attempt to make documentation clear and useful.
>>
>> I think many developers underestimate the significance of  
>> documentation
>> to projects.  Of course, most of us have at least some practice  
>> figuring
>> things out without documentation, reading source, and so on...
>
> True.  It's a shame that there isn't better documentation for some
> projects, however -- especially since that often means someone will go
> use something else (with better documentation) instead.  While I could
> eventually puzzle out how to use Gruff effectively, for instance, I'd
> rather have something with good documentation at my fingertips than  
> have
> to pore over source code just for a trivial use of the library.
>
> Since I've been accused of something akin to solipsism before in this
> discussion, I'll be clear: I'm not saying that I, personally, am an
> important user to whom developers must cater.  Read my personal
> experience as a symptom of a deeper problem with the lack of quality
> documentation, please.
>
>
>>
>> But putting in a few years as a writer leaves me more concerned with
>> documentation than I used to be.  I'll say that much.
>
> Writing what amounts to tutorial documentation for money in the last  
> few
> years has certainly improved my understanding of the importance of
> documentation -- but I think the biggest change to my perspective is  
> in
> the fact that I'm using libraries much more these days than I used to,
> and thus finding poor library documentation far more problematic  
> than I
> used to.
>
> -- 
> CCD CopyWrite Chad Perrin [ http://ccd.apotheon.org ]
> Marvin Minsky: "It's just incredible that a trillion-synapse  
> computer could
> actually spend Saturday afternoon watching a football game."
>