Re: Xaraya_documentation Digest, Vol 12, Issue 1

Hi Ryan,

In your words: "It takes a little while to get to the point where you
know enough of the vocabulary, and have enough of a sense of how
things fit together, so that you can
effectively search for documentation.".

If your beginners guide is about that, so I agree it's one of the most
necessary things. I can't say these are the only things that are
missing because I am starting to learn now. But, as a php programmer,
a lot of things I discovered better looking on the code, because I
could not foud even using google. In the docs aroud I sense there is a
lack of practical examples either, even in the basic ones. I don't
belive xaraya is a cms for a non php programer allready.

I want to help in the way you are saying, so I'll keep my list of
questions from now on. I learned a lot these past days, but still have
a lot to learn, for sure. Soon I'll organize my anterior questions
either. Please send your guide to me so I can read it. A good thing is
to have the list you sad in this guide either.  One this I missed on
xaraya docs are cross references to other related docs.



2007/3/17, Ryan Walker <[email protected]>:
> xaraya_documentation-request-gn8pmO+6nszQT0dZR+AlfA@public.gmane.org wrote:
> > Hi all,
> >
> > I'm starting to use xaraya and I see it already as a very good cms.
> > But I see it either as a not very well documented app. So I want to
> > help. Do you need some help? May someone please tell me how to catch
> > up with thins that are going on?
> >
> > Thks,
> > Bruno Reis
> >
>
> Bruno,
> My own feeling is that Xaraya is thoroughly documented, but it is
> difficult for new users to find the documentation.  It takes a little
> while to get to the point where you know enough of the vocabulary, and
> have enough of a sense of how things fit together, so that you can
> effectively search for documentation.  Sometimes documentation is
> formal... but sometimes it's just a good forum post.  But I do think all
> of the questions have been answered. (Or almost all.)
>
> The search engine at Xaraya.com isn't working right now, but even when
> it is, it's not really up to the task of pulling the best answers out of
> all the material at Xaraya.com.  I find that when I use the search
> engine at Xaraya.com, I get a ton of search results, but it takes too
> long to sift through the results, because no summaries are presented,
> and there are too many results, and the top results aren't always the
> most relevant.  I have much better luck using my Google toolbar to
> search xaraya.com.  When I do that, very often I find that one of the
> top few search results will have what I'm looking for.
>
> I'd say only two things are lacking from the existing documentation:
> 1)  A guide specifically for beginners that gets people using the CMS
> fast and answers the universal questions about positioning blocks in
> templates, adding article summaries to a template, etc.  This guide
> should be as concise as possible and oriented toward learning-by-doing.
> 2)  A good list of links for beginners... that is, links to some of the
> most useful existing documentation.
>
> There is a wiki at Xaraya so there is nothing to stop us from creating
> these things.  If you agree that those two things are what is needed, we
> could work together to create those two things in the wiki.  I started
> #1 and recently submitted a rough, incomplete draft to the documentation
> team leader... haven't heard back yet.  But in any case, there's a wiki,
> so nothing's stopping us.
>
> Since you are new to Xaraya, you can help me create these things by
> keeping records of what your questions are, where you get stuck, and
> where you found answers to questions (keep a list of URLs).  I've been
> using Xaraya for a few years, so it's sometimes difficult for me to
> remember which things stumped me in the early going.  Of course, I can
> look at some of my early forum posts to refresh my memory.  Nonetheless,
> it would be helpful if you would take some brief notes about your
> progress as you learn the CMS.  And I can also show you sections of my
> guide for beginners, and you can let me know what isn't clear and how I
> can improve the guide.
>
> Sound good?
> Ryan
>
>
> --
> Ryan Walker
> www.WebCommunicate.net:
> Insights and resources for effective websites.
>
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