[boost] Re: documenting issues

From: Beman Dawes (beman_at_[hidden])
Date: 1999-07-09 15:04:39

At 05:37 PM 7/9/99 +0100, Paul Baxter wrote:

>Thanks again for some excellent libraries and some interesting
valuable
>discussions on this list. I'm learning a lot from it all.
>
>I wondered if it would be desirable to extend Boost's remit to
include
>descriptions of some of the issues raised. It could supplement the
existing
>guidelines for contributors.
>This has just been suggested for one specific issue, but could be
more
>generally useful. (but perhaps to onerous for one person)

Yes, I hope we can build a new category.  Papers?  That seems archaic
when a lot of this stuff never graces a printed page anymore.
"Articles" seems a bit better to me.

>Since Boost is a repository of libs with good programming practice,
and
>since these are often discussed in this list, perhaps distil some of
the
>emails into a tips section of the list (rather like Allan Clarke's
tips
>culled from the newsgroups)
>
>This would make Boost more than a 'library' site, but I suspect
still
>promote the same practices that the originators intended when
providing the
>site in the first place.
>
>It will help spell out more of the issues for library contributors,
and more
>importantly help less experienced programmers like me comprehend the
issues
>more clearly.
>
>I would offer to do this myself, but feel I don't yet understand the
issues
>well enough to 'edit' the mailing list's threads into an expanding
set of
>coherent articles.

Why not give it a try, anyhow?  You might find that in the process of
pulling discussion together, you gained valuable knowledge and
skills.

>I'm not suggesting this as replacing the primary aims of boost,
merely an
>occasional way of encouraging the use of good techniques.

>If the list is archived somewhere, perhaps even just a link to the
thread(s)
>which discuss a topic.

Thats a good question. By going to http://www.egroups.com/group/boost
past messages can be read.  But currently by list members only.
Maybe we should open it to the public; the worry about doing this is
that email addresses are visable.

--Beman

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