Re: Brainstorming ideas how to improve Ruby's documentation

On Sat, Aug 06, 2011 at 05:03:39AM +0900, Andy Davis wrote:
> > Browse to the Ruby standard library with a non-frames, text-only
> > browser. Screen readers don't do a much better job of parsing frames.
> > And consider the linking nightmare.
>=20
> Maybe I'm missing something, but the linking nightmare you mention can
> easily be resolved with a script.  Isn't that their purpose -- to
> automate the most mundane and easily-botched of routines?  Unless you're
> hand-coding the files, I don't see why this is so difficult.

It seems like you're talking about linking internally, between parts of
the documentation, while the problem brought up is the fact that if you
just copy the URI out of your browser's address bar and link to that from
another site or in an email you'll end up with a link to the frameset
with default pages open in the frames rather than a link to the
particular page to which you intended to direct someone.


>=20
> For people with eyesight problems I can understand using text-only
> browsers (and certainly screen readers), but the solution need not be
> one-approach only.  One script can generate frames (or menus), and
> another can generate text-only pages.  Just because frames do not
> address every problem does not mean they are invalid.

On the other hand, you can make a page look better, and design it to be
more easily and intuitively navigable, without frames -- and once you do
that, you might as well not offer the frames option alongside the
non-frames option.

--=20
Chad Perrin [ original content licensed OWL: http://owl.apotheon.org ]