[sword-devel] Re: Considering write-up on "Getting Started as BibleCS volunteer"

[Stephen Denne]

Hi Lynn,

> * Is the equivalent of the above book already available?

Along with Jerry's answer about developers writing code rather than
documenting it, I think that the code itself has been used as a introduction
book, thinking along the lines of "you need to be able to understand the
code (and the project) before you alter it, and the most up to date
information about the code is always going to be the code itself." Although
more up to date than the code is the ideas about where the code is going.

> * Is this part of what twiki (
> http://www.crosswire.org/ucgi-bin/twiki/view/Main/WebHome ) was
> supposed to
> accomplish? If so, am I misinformed that twiki is now used so
> little that it
> is effectively counterproductive in that it often/mostly seems to convey
> obsolete, inaccurate information? Is it mostly for historical
> curiousity to
> see the state of sword in the Oct, 2002 time frame when it was
> briefly used?

Chris has answered this, but I'd like to suggest that the immense value of a
wiki for sword hasn't been exploited...

> * Is this part of what of what mvnForm is supposed to accomplish?

In my mind forums work well for communities with lots of active experts
willing to answer any question promptly, for not quite so active
communities, or where answers to the same questions are sought repeatedly, a
wiki should work better for new developers, as they are typically something
that is read for information prior to asking the question if the answer
can't be found. A wiki is more like a book than forums or mailing lists.

> * What was the learning curve experience of posters to twiki?

twiki is easy to use, but more importantly, it is able to be used by anyone.
Wikis are able to be a fantastic collaborative development aid. If there is
misinformation posted, you can add a query asking for clarification or
asking if the information is still relevant, along with your reasoning why
it may not be. Then the next person to read it either becomes aware that
what it says may not be correct, saving them confusion later, or they could
update it if they know the answers.

In my opinion, it would be worth collecting all the questions you have asked
on this list, and archiving them on a NewbieQuestions page, along with your
current impression of the answers to the questions (including reasons why
the question isn't relevant, or why it is misguided, or that you still want
it answered)

Stephen Denne.
--
Datacute - Acute Information Revelation Tools
http://www.datacute.co.nz/