On Sat, May 20, 2000 at 09:43:35PM -0200, Manuel Lemos wrote:
> - Final releases are done and many new features are not documented. What
> is the point of announcing cool features like Shockwave Flash support but
> users can not find any documentation to use it? This makes the developers
> look like hackers or just amateurs.
Which new user needs Shockwave Flash support? The same goes with COM
support. It was never documented in the manual. COM was present since the
beginng of PHP 3. Users who needs COM support reads the source code.
> Developers should be obligated to enter documentation for the functions
> that add or else they might never be documented at all. You may claim that
> developers do not have the time both add code and document their new
> functions, but I have seen developers that keep adding multiple features and
> not documenting any. If you do not have time to document one feature that
> you add, you certainly will not have time to add other features.
Together with the above expierenced users use the source code. In
the case of Shockwave Flash you can use the function prototype together
with the Flash API and start coding. And oh well, the documentation people
have to do some other work thei are paid for.
> I know that documenting software is a real drag, but the lack of proper
> documentation is a big disadvantage of many free software projects that
> plays against its credibility. I know that PHP is not the worse documented
> free software project, but the reality is that many developers rather have
> to pay for less capable software that is properly documented than using
> free software that you have to guess how to use it by browsing the source
> code.
You should have a look at Hartmut Holzgraefe's nifty PHP Function Table /
Implementation & Documentation at
http://www.zugeschaut-und-mitgebaut.de/php/. It is currently on Puretec, a
German mass hoster. Hartmut has to transfer it unziped to it and it is
around 10 MB in size. Could it distributed with php.net or zend.com?
-Egon
PS: In Stuttgart, Germany, there will be the LinuxTag 2000 from 06/29 -
07/02. German PHP volunteers will probably get a booth and will present
PHP in the Open Source Pavillon there. LinuxTag is Europeans largest
exhibition for Open Source Software. The keynote will be held by Richard
M. Stallman. Hopefully one or more members from the PHP group can come to
Stuttgart. LinuxCare is one of the sponsors.
--
Grueninger Str. 6, 70599 Stuttgart
http://php.net/manual/, http://php.net/books.php3
http://www.uni-hohenheim.de/~windband
http://snaps.php.net/manual/, http://www.zend.com/
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