Re: [Boost-users] A need for a COOKBOOK

From: Hughes, James (jhughes_at_[hidden])
Date: 2007-09-21 10:51:55

> -----Original Message-----
> From: boost-users-bounces_at_[hidden] 
> [mailto:boost-users-bounces_at_[hidden]] On Behalf Of 
> Steve Toledo-Brown
> Sent: 21 September 2007 11:01
> To: boost-users_at_[hidden]
> Subject: Re: [Boost-users] A need for a COOKBOOK
> 
> Hughes, James wrote:
> 
> > All very well asking, but writing a book is a very time 
> consuming and 
> > difficult task, then you have to get it published, 
> otherwise you have 
> > spent a year of your life with no income (or two years of 
> your spare 
> > time - and who has that any more). I'm amazed that the current docs 
> > are even as good as they are.....but would agree that there 
> is a lack 
> > of consistency which I believe the boost:docs projects is 
> aiming to fix.
> > Whether it will is anyone's guess.
> > 
> > James
> 
> The "writing a book is a very time consuming" problem is to 
> some extent mitigated in the cookbook model, which Dhruva 
> didn't really explain fully. There's a website to which any 
> user can submit recipes - typically a code sample 
> illustrating a useful technique using some aspect of the 
> technology in question for a specific purpose, with a brief 
> discussion. Some recipes are idioms, some are more like 
> mini-patterns. Over time hundreds of these recipes build up 
> on the website. Deriving a book means collecting a sample of 
> the best/most widely applicable recipes by a distributed 
> effort. Typically you'd have one reviewer per 
> area/chapter/theme who'd choose recipes and write a brief 
> overview discussion. There's still obviously a significant 
> editorial effort involved, but it's not really like writing a book.
> 
>

That's sounds like a good idea. I always prefer examples to
raw/technical explanation - I find things so much easier to understand
that way (I refer you to the Boost::filesystem TR1 Documentation, very
difficult to understand without examples, where everything becomes
instantly clear!!). Is this 'cookbook' idea currently in use for Boost??

James

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