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diff --git a/more/writingdoc/design.html b/more/writingdoc/design.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..cb47fef187 --- /dev/null +++ b/more/writingdoc/design.html @@ -0,0 +1,576 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> + +<html> +<head> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="en-us"> + <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"> + <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../boost.css"> + + <title>Writing Documentation for Boost - HTML Design</title> +</head> + +<body link="#0000FF" vlink="#800080"> + <table border="0" cellpadding="7" cellspacing="0" width="100%" summary= + "header"> + <tr> + <td valign="top" width="300"> + <h3><a href="index.html"><img height="86" width="277" alt="C++ Boost" + src="../../boost.png" border="0"></a></h3> + </td> + + <td valign="top"> + <h1 align="center">Writing Documentation for Boost</h1> + + <h2 align="center">HTML Design</h2> + </td> + </tr> + </table> + <hr> + + <dl class="page-index"> + <dt><a href="#introduction">Introduction</a></dt> + + <dt><a href="#common-pages">Common Pages Included in HTML + Documentation</a></dt> + + <dd> + <dl class="page-index"> + <dt><a href="#index-page">Index</a></dt> + + <dt><a href="#overview-page">Overview</a></dt> + + <dt><a href="#definitions-page">Definitions</a></dt> + + <dt><a href="#rationale-page">Rationale</a></dt> + + <dt><a href="#configuration-page">Configuration Information</a></dt> + + <dt><a href="#faq-page">Frequently Asked Questions</a></dt> + + <dt><a href="#bibliography-page">Bibliography</a></dt> + + <dt><a href="#acknowledgements-page">Acknowledgment</a></dt> + + <dt><a href="#header-page">Header Reference</a></dt> + </dl> + </dd> + + <dt><a href="#layout">Layout</a></dt> + + <dd> + <dl class="page-index"> + <dt><a href="#page-banner">Page Banner</a></dt> + + <dt><a href="#page-index">Page Index</a></dt> + + <dt><a href="#content">Documentation Content</a></dt> + + <dd> + <dl class="page-index"> + <dt><a href="#doc-footnotes">Footnotes</a></dt> + </dl> + </dd> + + <dt><a href="#revision-info">Revision Information</a></dt> + + <dt><a href="#copyright">Copyright Information</a></dt> + </dl> + </dd> + + <dt><a href="#format">Format</a></dt> + + <dd> + <dl class="page-index"> + <dt><a href="#style-sheets">Cascading Style Sheets</a></dt> + + <dd> + <dl class="page-index"> + <dt><a href="#boost-style-sheet">Boost Style Sheet</a></dt> + </dl> + </dd> + </dl> + </dd> + + <dt><a href="#templates">Templates</a></dt> + + <dd> + <dl class="page-index"> + <dt><a href="#index-template">Index Page Template</a></dt> + + <dt><a href="#overview-template">Overview Page Template</a></dt> + + <dt><a href="#definitions-template">Definitions Page + Template</a></dt> + + <dt><a href="#rationale-template">Rationale Page Template</a></dt> + + <dt><a href="#configuration-template">Configuration Page + Template</a></dt> + + <dt><a href="#faq-template">FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Page + Template</a></dt> + + <dt><a href="#bibliography-template">Bibliography Page + Template</a></dt> + + <dt><a href="#acknowledgements-template">Acknowledgments Page + Template</a></dt> + + <dt><a href="#header-template">Header Page Template</a></dt> + </dl> + </dd> + </dl> + + <h2><a name="introduction" id="introduction"></a>Introduction</h2> + + <p>Boost places no requirements on the design of HTML documentation for + library submitters. If you are submitting a library for which documentation + already exists in either HTML or in a form easily converted to HTML then + there is no need for you to read this document. However, if you have not + yet written the documentation, or if you expect to have to translate + documentation written in a format not easily convertible to HTML then this + document can give you a lot of information on how to go about writing + documentation in HTML.</p> + + <p>In several places this document assumes you're writing the documentation + to conform to the structure described in the <a href= + "structure.html">Documentation Structure</a> document. There is no + requirement that your documentation content follow these guidelines, but + they provide an effective way to communicate technical specifications for a + library in a terse yet precise manner that's familiar to many Boost + users.</p> + + <p>This document also contains links to <a href="#templates">HTML template + files</a> that can be used to rapidly develop documentation for a library + submission. These templates follow the guidelines presented here and in the + <a href="structure.html">Documentation Structure</a> document.</p> + + <h2><a name="common-pages" id="common-pages"></a>Common Pages Included in + HTML Documentation</h2> + + <p>Most HTML documentation projects will contain some common pages. General + guidelines for these common pages are provided below.</p> + + <h3><a name="index-page" id="index-page"></a>Index</h3> + + <p>The index page is the first page presented to a user when he browses the + documentation. Generally this page should not contain any actual content, + but instead contains a list of links to specific content. At a minimum this + list should contain a link to every HTML page contained in the + documentation. Optionally, sub-lists may be provided for individual pages + linking to specific subjects within the page. These sub-lists should form a + "tree" hierarchy based on the level of heading tag used for the specific + subject. Inclusion of such sub-lists for every page can make the index + rather lengthy, and since each page should include its own <a href= + "#page-index">Page Index</a>, it may make the navigation of the + documentation easier if such sub-lists are avoided. However, there is one + exception to this guideline: reference documentation should contain a link + to every header file in the library and a sub-list with a link to every + macro, value, type, class, function and object (see <a href= + "structure.html">Documentation Structure</a>) found in the header. Users + aren't always sure what header file any of these may be contained in, so + this structure in the index allows for easy navigation of the reference + documentation.</p> + + <p>The index list should generally be constructed using an HTML "definition + list" (<dl> and <dt> tags). A definition list has no bullets or + ordered specifications and produces a cleaner layout then an unordered list + (<ul> and <li> tags) or an ordered list (<ol> and + <li> tags). If you choose to use the common <a href= + "#boost-style-sheet">Boost Style Sheet</a> you should add a + <code>class="index"</code> attribute/value pair to the <dl> tag.</p> + + <p>An Index page <a href="#index-template">template</a> is provided for + use.</p> + + <h3><a name="overview-page" id="overview-page"></a>Overview</h3> + + <p>The Overview page is used to introduce the reader to the library. It + should give a high-level overview of the purpose of the library and + introduce the reader to any concepts they may be unfamiliar with. This may + also be an appropriate place for some "light" rationale, though more + thorough presentation of any rationale would be better placed in the + <a href="#rationale-page">Rational Page</a>.</p> + + <p>Like most content pages, the Overview page should include a <a href= + "#page-index">Page Index</a>.</p> + + <p>An Overview page <a href="#overview-template">template</a> is provided + for use.</p> + + <h3><a name="definitions-page" id="definitions-page"></a>Definitions</h3> + + <p>The Definitions page is used to provide a list of definitions for terms + that a user may be unfamiliar with.</p> + + <p>The definition list should generally be constructed using an HTML + "definition list" (<dl> and <DT> tags). A definition list has + no bullets or ordered specifications and produces a cleaner layout then an + unordered list (<UL> and <li> tags) or an ordered list + (<ol> and <li> tags). If you choose to use the common <a href= + "#boost-style-sheet">Boost Style Sheet</a> you should add a + <code>class="definition"</code> attribute/value pair to the <dl> + tag.</p> + + <p>Because this page's content should only contain a list of definitions, + it should not have a <a href="#page-index">Page Index</a>.</p> + + <p>A Definitions page <a href="#definitions-template">template</a> is + provided for use.</p> + + <h3><a name="rationale-page" id="rationale-page"></a>Rationale</h3> + + <p>The Rationale page is used to provide lengthy descriptions of the + rationale behind the library's design. This information helps users to + understand why a library was designed the way it was and may reduce the + frequency of a number of frequently asked questions. For a better + description of why rationale is important see the <a href= + "http://www.boost.org/more/lib_guide.htm#Rationale">Rationale rationale</a> + in the general submission guidelines.</p> + + <p>Like most content pages, the Rationale page should include a <a href= + "#page-index">Page Index</a>.</p> + + <p>A Rationale page <a href="#rationale-template">template</a> is provided + for use.</p> + + <h3><a name="configuration-page" id="configuration-page"></a>Configuration + Information</h3> + + <p>The Configuration Information page is used to document configuration + macros used by the library. Such macros belong in one of three groups: + macros used by library implenters defined in + <code><boost/config.hpp></code>, macros used by library users to + detect platform configuration information and macros defined by library + users to configure library behavior.</p> + + <p>Like most content pages, the Overview page should include a <a href= + "#page-index">Page Index</a>.</p> + + <p>A Configuration page <a href="#configuration-template">template</a> is + provided for use.</p> + + <h3><a name="faq-page" id="faq-page"></a>Frequently Asked Questions</h3> + + <p>As a library matures the users will have questions about the usage of + the library. Often users will ask the same questions over and over again. + Rather than having to deal with answering the question every time it's + asked, a Frequently Asked Questions (commonly known as FAQs) page can be + used to document the questions and answers. This is such a valuable piece + of documentation not only for the users but for the maintainers as well, + that a FAQ page should be provided from the outset. If there are no + questions that will obviously become a FAQ, the initial page may just + indicate that there are no FAQs yet. This empty place holder helps to + indicate to the users that you plan to address any FAQs as they occur.</p> + + <p>The <a href="#page-index">Page Index</a> for the FAQ page should contain + a list of all the questions contained in the document. The actual question + entries should be formatted with the question in a heading tag and the + answers in standard paragraph format. This provides a clean presentation + that's easy to read.</p> + + <p>A Frequently Asked Questions page <a href="#faq-template">template</a> + is provided for use.</p> + + <h3><a name="bibliography-page" id= + "bibliography-page"></a>Bibliography</h3> + + <p>The Bibliography page is used to document any bibliographical + information associated with references made within the documentation to + external resources. Parenthetical references are used within the + documentation which link to entries in the Bibliography page. + Bibliographical entries provide detailed information about the external + resource and may contain hyper links to the resource if it's available + online. There are several formal styles used for writing bibliographies. + You may use what ever style you want, but one of the better styles to + consider using can be referenced <a href= + "http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/cgos/idx_basic.html">here</a>.</p> + + <p>Since the Bibliography page should contain only bibliographical + information there is no need for a <a href="#page-index">Page + Index</a>.</p> + + <p>A Bibliography page <a href="#bibliography-template">template</a> is + provided for use.</p> + + <h3><a name="acknowledgements-page" id= + "acknowledgements-page"></a>Acknowledgment</h3> + + <p>The Acknowledgment page is used to give credit where credit is due. When + individuals provide input on the design or implementation, or when you make + use of someone else's work, you should acknowledge them. This is a courtesy + that you'd expect others to extend to you, so you should strive to + acknowledge the efforts of everyone else in your own documentation.</p> + + <p>Since the Acknowledgment page should contain only a list of + acknowledgment there is no need for a <a href="#page-index">Page + Index</a>.</p> + + <p>An Acknowledgments page <a href= + "#acknowledgements-template">template</a> is provided for use.</p> + + <h3><a name="header-page" id="header-page"></a>Header Reference</h3> + + <p>The Header Reference pages are the most important pages in your + documentation. They document all library headers, including all the macros, + values, types, classes, functions and objects defined in them. In general + it may prove useful to follow the guidelines in <a href= + "structure.html">Documentation Structure</a> when writing the content for + these pages.</p> + + <p>Like most content pages, the Header Reference pages should include a + <a href="#page-index">Page Index</a>.</p> + + <p>A Header Reference page <a href="#header-template">template</a> is + provided for use.</p> + + <h2><a name="layout" id="layout"></a>Layout</h2> + + <p>There are certain page layout concepts that will be used frequently in + many of your pages. This section outlines some general guidelines that you + can follow when designing each of these layout concepts for your + documentation.</p> + + <h3><a name="page-banner" id="page-banner"></a>Page Banner</h3> + + <p>The Page Banner is located at the very top of a page and provides quick + information about the page contents. This includes the Boost logo, which + indicates to the reader that this page is part of the Boost web site, a + title for the documentation (generally the library name) and the page + title. The Boost logo should hyper link to the Boost home page on the index + page and to the index page on all other pages. This allows the user to + easily navigate through the Boost web site and through the documentation. + The <title> tag for the HTML page should consist of the documentation + title and the page title separated by a hyphen.</p> + + <p>The Page Banner should be separated from the rest of the page by the use + of an <hr> tag. This helps to clearly separate the actual content + from the title information and produces cleaner text.</p> + + <h3><a name="page-index" id="page-index"></a>Page Index</h3> + + <p>The page index is used to quickly navigate to the various sections of + the documentation on the page, and when present should be located just + below the Page Banner.</p> + + <p>The index list should generally be constructed using an HTML "definition + list" (<dl> and <DT> tags). A definition list has no bullets or + ordered specifications and produces a cleaner layout then an unordered list + (<UL> and <li> tags) or an ordered list (<ol> and + <li> tags). If you choose to use the Boost Style Sheet you should add + a <code>class="page-index"</code> attribute/value pair to the <dl> + tag.</p> + + <p>Most pages should include a Page Index.</p> + + <h3><a name="content" id="content"></a>Documentation Content</h3> + + <p>The page's actual documentation content will be formatted according to + the specific needs of individual pages, and should be placed right after + the Page Index if present, or after the Page Banner if not. In general the + documentation content will take the form of paragraph text contained + underneath section headings.</p> + + <h3><a name="doc-footnotes" id="doc-footnotes"></a>Footnotes</h3> + + <p>Footnotes may be used within a page's documentation. Within the + documentation content a footnote reference should take the form of a + footnote number in parentheses (the parentheses make it easier for the + reader to click on the hyper link) hyper linking to the actual footnote at + the bottom of the page's documentation content. You may either use the + <sup> tag to format such footnote numbers, or, preferably, you can + use a CSS style class in order to distinguish the number as a footnote + instead of as part of the actual text. If you choose to use the common + <a href="#boost-style-sheet">Boost Style Sheet</a>, a <code>footnote</code> + class is defined for this purpose.</p> + + <h3><a name="revision-info" id="revision-info"></a>Revision + Information</h3> + + <p>At the bottom of every page should be some revision information + indicating when the page was last revised. This information should be + separated from the rest of the page above by an <hr> tag. The + following HTML code snippet can be used to track this revision information + (this code uses some server components that exist on the Boost web site to + automatically track revision dates with out the need for hand editing the + date text):</p> + <pre> +<hr> +<p>Revised + <!--webbot bot="Timestamp" S-Type="EDITED" S-Format="%d %B, %Y" startspan --> + 01 January, 2001 + <!--webbot bot="Timestamp" endspan i-checksum="39359" --> +</p> +</pre> + + <h3><a name="copyright" id="copyright"></a>Copyright Information</h3> + + <p>The very bottom of the page should contain any copyright information + that applies to the document.</p> + + <h2><a name="format" id="format"></a>Format</h2> + + <p>This section provides general guidelines for formatting documentation + using HTML. The description of the various "common pages" gave specific + details for formatting specific sections of the documentation, which should + override these guidelines.</p> + + <h3><a name="code-format" id="code-format"></a>Code</h3> + + <p>Code within the documentation should be placed within either + <code></code> or <pre></pre> tags. For code that's + placed inline with other text you use <code></code> tags, while + <pre></pre> tags are used for code "blocks". If a cascading + style sheet is used to specify formatting for these tags, a fixed width + sans serif font should be used. This insures that the code is easily + distinguishable from the rest of the text. It may also be beneficial to set + the style for <pre></pre> tags to indent the text, to help + separate code blocks from other structural HTML blocks. The <a href= + "#boost-style-sheet">Boost Style Sheet</a> specifies formatting for these + tags.</p> + + <p><b>Note:</b> "Code" includes variable names, function names, etc.</p> + + <h3><a name="lists" id="lists"></a>Lists</h3> + + <p>Lists should be constructed as unordered (<UL> and <li> + tags), ordered (<ol> and <li> tags) or definition (<dl> + and <DT> tags) lists in HTML. You use an unordered list when you need + a collection of items that don't have any kind of logical ordering, such as + a list of data types that are defined by the library and can be used for a + template argument. You use an ordered list when the collection of items + must be grouped in a logical ordering, such as when enumerating the steps + that an action logically performs. You use a definition list when the list + consists of not only items that have no logical ordering, but also contains + definitions/descriptions/etc. of the items. A good example of this is the + function specifications as described in <a href= + "structure.html">Documentation Structure</a>.</p> + + <h3><a name="graphics" id="graphics"></a>Graphics</h3> + + <p>Graphics should be used very sparingly, if at all. Graphic images + greatly effect the download time for many people, which can discourage + users from reading the documentation. If you need graphic images to help + illustrate something in your documentation consider supplying only a link + to the image within the documentation, instead of embedding it directly in + the text. If an image is going to be included in the text of the document + you should specify the image's size in the <img> tag, in order to + allow the user's browser to optimize the formatting of the text before the + image is loaded.</p> + + <h3><a name="non-breaking-spaces" id="non-breaking-spaces"></a>Non-breaking + Spaces</h3> + + <p>Non-breaking spaces (&nbsp;) should be avoided in HTML text. + Generally there are more appropriate ways to format the document, such as + using list constructs or specifying indentation as a style attribute or in + cascading style sheets.</p> + + <h3><a name="style-sheets" id="style-sheets"></a>Cascading Style + Sheets</h3> + + <p>Cascading style sheets allow you to apply some advanced formatting + styles to an HTML document. More importantly, they allow you to change the + formatting in a single file and effect all pages using the style sheet. + Instead of struggling to produce a specific format in HTML it's often + easier and more flexible to specify the formatting in a style sheet.</p> + + <h4><a name="boost-style-sheet" id="boost-style-sheet"></a>Boost Style + Sheet</h4> + + <p>The concept of using cascading style sheets to format HTML is such a + good idea that it can be beneficial to apply this across the entire Boost + site. Of course we can't require this (if Boost were to require such trivia + for submissions it's likely that many programmers would be discouraged from + contributing). However, a "standard" Boost style sheet + (http://www.boost.org/boost.css) is supplied anyway, so that a contributer + can quickly and easily produce clear and consistent documentation that + reflects a Boost "brand" if they so choose. If, at a later date, it's + decided to update the Boost "brand", it may be done in this single file and + all documents using the style sheet will automatically be updated.</p> + + <p>The Boost supplied style sheet not only specifies styles for many + standard tags, it also specifies several style "classes". A class is + specified for a given tag instead of being applied to all instances of a + given tag type. Below is a list of the classes specified in the Boost style + sheet and a description of when to use them:</p> + + <dl> + <dt><b>index</b> Used for <dl> tags when writing index lists.</dt> + + <dt><b>page-index</b> Used for <dl> tags when writing page index + lists.</dt> + + <dt><b>Footnote</b> Used when writing Footnote numbers.</dt> + + <dt><b>function-semantics</b> Used for <dl> tags when writing + function semantic lists.</dt> + </dl> + + <h2><a name="templates" id="templates"></a>Templates</h2> + + <p>Instead of hand coding every HTML page, HTML "templates" can be used + instead. The list below provides links to templates that may be used when + writing documentation for a contribution to Boost. Links provided in these + templates assume the files will reside in the "traditional" directory + hierarchy of <i>boost/libs/library/doc</i>. They may need correcting if the + file will reside in some other location.</p> + + <p><b>Note:</b> Since these "templates" are just HTML pages simply clicking + on the links below will load the template in your browser. You will need to + use a browser specific method to download the files instead of loading them + into the browser (for instance, on most Windows browsers you can right + click on the link and select the appropriate command from the context + sensitive menu).</p> + + <ul> + <li><a name="index-template" id="index-template"></a><a href= + "template/index.html">Index Page Template</a></li> + + <li><a name="overview-template" id="overview-template"></a><a href= + "template/overview.html">Overview Page Template</a></li> + + <li><a name="definitions-template" id="definitions-template"></a><a href= + "template/definitions.html">Definitions Page Template</a></li> + + <li><a name="rationale-template" id="rationale-template"></a><a href= + "template/rationale.html">Rationale Page Template</a></li> + + <li><a name="configuration-template" id= + "configuration-template"></a><a href= + "template/configuration.html">Configuration Page Template</a></li> + + <li><a name="faq-template" id="faq-template"></a><a href= + "template/faq.html">FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Page + Template</a></li> + + <li><a name="bibliography-template" id= + "bibliography-template"></a><a href= + "template/bibliography.html">Bibliography Page Template</a></li> + + <li><a name="acknowledgements-template" id= + "acknowledgements-template"></a><a href= + "template/acknowledgments.html">Acknowledgments Page Template</a></li> + + <li><a name="header-template" id="header-template"></a><a href= + "template/header.html">Header Page Template</a></li> + </ul> + <hr> + + <p><a href="http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=referer"><img border="0" src= + "../../doc/images/valid-html401.png" alt="Valid HTML 4.01 Transitional" + height="31" width="88"></a></p> + + <p>Revised + <!--webbot bot="Timestamp" s-type="EDITED" s-format="%d %B, %Y" startspan -->04 + December, 2006<!--webbot bot="Timestamp" endspan i-checksum="38514" --></p> + + <p><i>Copyright © 2001 <a href= + "mailto:williamkempf@hotmail.com">William E. Kempf</a></i></p> + + <p><i>Distributed under the Boost Software License, Version 1.0. (See + accompanying file <a href="../../LICENSE_1_0.txt">LICENSE_1_0.txt</a> or + copy at <a href= + "http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt">http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt</a>)</i></p> +</body> +</html> |