[Zope] Re: getting some documentation going:(getting long here..)

[Martijn Faassen]

Lindon Parker wrote:
> 
> Oh dear, first it's nice of Michael to send a reply. But can any of you
> Digital Creations people see what the problem with the answer? Well before I
> go critcising it, first let me say I'll have some off-list discussion with
> Michael to see if I can get the sort of documentation going we need. But
> (and I'm sorry Michael to be picking on you - I KNOW its not you fault) what
> those "giving up in frustration" people are talking about is the fact that
> there is NO answer here(as is often the case in other replies/documentation
> - obviously NOT written by Michael by the way).
[snip stuff about how neat technology is neat but not the answer to the
doc problems]

[Allaire's SPECTRA will have documentation]
>    The good news is that it's about Aus$12,000 per copy and wont really be
> ready for prime time for about 8-12 months(we think). The bad news is that
> it WILL ship with VERY VERY good documentation. In fact the ticket price
> isn't such a differentiator either; anyone (including you guys at DC) who
> thinks Zope is free is really fooling themseleves, ticket price is but
> one(small) component in the overall cost of software, poor documentation is
> another soaring cost to organisations such as ours.
>    So the only real advantage left is the 8-12 months window, which we need
> to use for documentation.

Agreed.

> Now we might all think Zope and the python/OO
> technologies around it as well as its inherent design, flexibility,
> extensibleness means we have a better product here, and that only a deluded
> fool would use a relational based  blah, blah, blah product. But the reality
> is that Allaire will beat us out here(they have a lot of experience with
> volume delivery) if we don't meet them on MANDETORY issues like good
> documentation. We have an opportunity to keep this area of our industry
> open, with the use of Zope. But it will pass us by if we dont get good
> documentation soon.
>    This is but one of a range of arguments made here for getting on the
> documentation-for-dummies bandwagon.

Are you subscribed to the Zope Documentation Project mailing list? We
could use you there. Your first assignment is to bug Digital Creations
until they say something about the docs. :) (yeah, yeah, I know DC will
anyway, I'm just bugging DC here)

Regards,

Martijn