[PATCH] Allow application to use a website for documentation.

[Tom Albers]

Op zaterdag 23 augustus 2008 23:19 schreef u:
> Shouldn't this be discussed on kde-doc-english? I'm not talking about 
> the patch, but the actual concept (i.e. replacing offline docbook 
> documentation with a online wiki documentation). 

I have to disagree. It is purely about the creating the possibility for KDE applications to use a website as the source of documentation instead of the KHelpCenter.

> As Krzysztof already 
> pointed out there are serious drawbacks with regard to translation.

Wiki pages for example can be translated. But that's up to the maintainer of the application to judge fix. There are a lot of applications outside KDE repository that can not provide a translated docbook anyhow, because they don't have the infrastructure of KDE, and translating docbooks without that infrastructure is hard. 

> There are surely other drawbacks the documentation experts will point 
> out if you ask them about this idea.

We have a policy for the main modules that the applications need to have a docbook. I've no intention to change that policy at this moment. If we do want to change that, I agree we need to discuss that there.

> So please first discuss this with the documentation and translation 
> teams before you commit such a radical change.

I don't agree this is a radical change. All functionality stays as it is now, but it adds the possibility for the applications that want that to have a website as a source of documentation. I personally would prefer the documentation of Mailody on a wiki, it lowers the barier for changing it, it looks a lot better as KHelpCenter and in the past years there have been no translations made, so that's no issue for me.

> FWIW, IMO this change must not be committed before a way to provide 
> offline documentation has been implemented.

I have to disagree. Mailody is useless without Internet, so offline documentation is not needed for me. It's all about choice, provide the application maintainer the possibility to do it. I don't see any harm in committing this patch as it adds an option and does not change existing behaviour at all.

> It's a common misconception 
> among geeks that everybody has fast Internet access (because being 
> geeks most geeks have fast Internet access).

It's a common misconception that all applications can run without internet access ;-) Seriously I prefer online up-to-date good looking documentation than old one offline. 

Toma