Re: [boost] [website] Proposal for new page - Libraries By Type

From: Joel de Guzman (joel_at_[hidden])
Date: 2006-02-18 19:45:56

Beth Jacobson wrote:
> Joel de Guzman wrote:
> 
>>I guess the question again is: do we
>>differentiate between "online" and "offline"?
> 
> 
> We do already. I can't google-search the documentation offline. Isn't 
> sorting or filtering really just an extension of that?
> 
> 
>>I, as a user,
>>would surely want my offline boost distro to have that capabilities
>>as well.

Yes it is, but it's limited to that. I fear that over reliance on
PHP will either 1) make the offline docs virtually useless or 2)
fork a different online and offline version of the docs, hence
double the effort and scatter the focus.

> I'd think it would be appropriate to use PHP to add functionality to the 
> online docs as long as it follows the same principle as javascript: it 
> doesn't make information inaccessable when it doesn't work (in this 
> case, when browsing offline). Of course, it would be great to have 
> sorting capability offline too, but I don't see why that must be a 
> prerequisite for implementing it in the online docs.

That would be ideal, but in reality is difficult to achieve. I'd
hate to see pages that are disabled because it requires a server.
While it's fun to have all the bells and whistles, a keep-it-simple
design can also potentially give you much of the needed functionality
with less fat and less fuss. The thing to keep in mind is that
in our case (boost docs) information is mostly static.

Regards,
-- 
Joel de Guzman
http://www.boost-consulting.com
http://spirit.sf.net