[Geoserver-devel] Documentation cleanup/updates

Hi all. Apologies for being away for a while. I have recently been given a bit more time/space to contribute to GeoServer, and so my first thought (unsurprisingly) was to see how the docs are doing.

So I just wanted to solicit a few opinions here on the -devel list to start for those who have been closer to the project than I have been:

* What are the major needs of the documentation as it exists now?
* What are the major gaps in the documentation (stuff not in there that should be)?
* Is it worth asking those two questions on the -users list as well?

I can't guarantee that I'll be able to spend oodles time on this right now, but I can say that I can spend more time than I have been (which, granted, isn't all that hard).

Cheers!

Thanks,
Mike

Mike Pumphrey
User Advocate | Boundless
mike@anonymised.com
917-460-7213
http://boundlessgeo.com
@boundlessgeo

Hi Mike,
Possibly beyond the scope of your request, but an improved search engine for the docs wouldn't go amiss. After all, what's the use of excellent docs (and generally GeoServer's are some of the best I've seen in an Open Source project) if they're hard/impossible to search effectively. Currently to effectively search it's necessary to use a 3rd-party search engine.

Random example I just picked - Try searching using the GeoServer engine for say "WMS" or when that fails - "WMS Animator", which will also fail. Finally try "Animator" - this time there are 5 results, but none is what should be the obvious result - the WMS Animator page - http://docs.geoserver.org/stable/en/user/tutorials/animreflector.html.

Cheers,
Jonathan

-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Pumphrey [mailto:mike@anonymised.com]
Sent: Friday, January 09, 2015 10:44 PM
To: Geoserver-devel
Subject: [Geoserver-devel] Documentation cleanup/updates

Hi all. Apologies for being away for a while. I have recently been given a bit more time/space to contribute to GeoServer, and so my first thought (unsurprisingly) was to see how the docs are doing.

So I just wanted to solicit a few opinions here on the -devel list to start for those who have been closer to the project than I have been:

* What are the major needs of the documentation as it exists now?
* What are the major gaps in the documentation (stuff not in there that should be)?
* Is it worth asking those two questions on the -users list as well?

I can't guarantee that I'll be able to spend oodles time on this right now, but I can say that I can spend more time than I have been (which, granted, isn't all that hard).

Cheers!

Thanks,
Mike

Mike Pumphrey
User Advocate | Boundless
mike@anonymised.com
917-460-7213
http://boundlessgeo.com
@boundlessgeo

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I was able to add several pre-canned searches to this page: http://geoserver.org/comm/

Perhaps we could do a similar thing for docs.geoserver.org

···

On 12 January 2015 at 04:40, Jonathan Moules <J.Moules@anonymised.com> wrote:

Hi Mike,
Possibly beyond the scope of your request, but an improved search engine for the docs wouldn’t go amiss. After all, what’s the use of excellent docs (and generally GeoServer’s are some of the best I’ve seen in an Open Source project) if they’re hard/impossible to search effectively. Currently to effectively search it’s necessary to use a 3rd-party search engine.

Random example I just picked - Try searching using the GeoServer engine for say “WMS” or when that fails - “WMS Animator”, which will also fail. Finally try “Animator” - this time there are 5 results, but none is what should be the obvious result - the WMS Animator page - http://docs.geoserver.org/stable/en/user/tutorials/animreflector.html.

Cheers,
Jonathan

-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Pumphrey [mailto:mike@anonymised.com…]
Sent: Friday, January 09, 2015 10:44 PM
To: Geoserver-devel
Subject: [Geoserver-devel] Documentation cleanup/updates

Hi all. Apologies for being away for a while. I have recently been given a bit more time/space to contribute to GeoServer, and so my first thought (unsurprisingly) was to see how the docs are doing.

So I just wanted to solicit a few opinions here on the -devel list to start for those who have been closer to the project than I have been:

  • What are the major needs of the documentation as it exists now?
  • What are the major gaps in the documentation (stuff not in there that should be)?
  • Is it worth asking those two questions on the -users list as well?

I can’t guarantee that I’ll be able to spend oodles time on this right now, but I can say that I can spend more time than I have been (which, granted, isn’t all that hard).

Cheers!

Thanks,
Mike

Mike Pumphrey
User Advocate | Boundless
mike@anonymised.com
917-460-7213
http://boundlessgeo.com
@boundlessgeo


Dive into the World of Parallel Programming! The Go Parallel Website, sponsored by Intel and developed in partnership with Slashdot Media, is your hub for all things parallel software development, from weekly thought leadership blogs to news, videos, case studies, tutorials and more. Take a look and join the conversation now. http://goparallel.sourceforge.net _______________________________________________
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Jody Garnett

Hi Jonathan. It's a bit out of my wheelhouse, but it shouldn't be too difficult to have the search box perform a Google Site Search or something similar. I've found the search feature of Sphinx to be odd and lacking in a number of areas.

To use your example:

https://www.google.com/search?q=animator+site%3Adocs.geoserver.org

It's the first result.

Thanks,
Mike

Mike Pumphrey
User Advocate | Boundless
mike@anonymised.com
917-460-7213
http://boundlessgeo.com
@boundlessgeo

On 1/12/2015 4:40 AM, Jonathan Moules wrote:

Hi Mike,
Possibly beyond the scope of your request, but an improved search engine for the docs wouldn't go amiss. After all, what's the use of excellent docs (and generally GeoServer's are some of the best I've seen in an Open Source project) if they're hard/impossible to search effectively. Currently to effectively search it's necessary to use a 3rd-party search engine.

Random example I just picked - Try searching using the GeoServer engine for say "WMS" or when that fails - "WMS Animator", which will also fail. Finally try "Animator" - this time there are 5 results, but none is what should be the obvious result - the WMS Animator page - http://docs.geoserver.org/stable/en/user/tutorials/animreflector.html.

Cheers,
Jonathan

-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Pumphrey [mailto:mike@anonymised.com]
Sent: Friday, January 09, 2015 10:44 PM
To: Geoserver-devel
Subject: [Geoserver-devel] Documentation cleanup/updates

Hi all. Apologies for being away for a while. I have recently been given a bit more time/space to contribute to GeoServer, and so my first thought (unsurprisingly) was to see how the docs are doing.

So I just wanted to solicit a few opinions here on the -devel list to start for those who have been closer to the project than I have been:

* What are the major needs of the documentation as it exists now?
* What are the major gaps in the documentation (stuff not in there that should be)?
* Is it worth asking those two questions on the -users list as well?

I can't guarantee that I'll be able to spend oodles time on this right now, but I can say that I can spend more time than I have been (which, granted, isn't all that hard).

Cheers!

Thanks,
Mike

Mike Pumphrey
User Advocate | Boundless
mike@anonymised.com
917-460-7213
http://boundlessgeo.com
@boundlessgeo

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Dive into the World of Parallel Programming! The Go Parallel Website, sponsored by Intel and developed in partnership with Slashdot Media, is your hub for all things parallel software development, from weekly thought leadership blogs to news, videos, case studies, tutorials and more. Take a look and join the conversation now. http://goparallel.sourceforge.net _______________________________________________
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HR Wallingford and its subsidiaries uses faxes and emails for confidential and legally privileged business communications. They do not of themselves create legal commitments. Disclosure to parties other than addressees requires our specific consent. We are not liable for unauthorised disclosures nor reliance upon them.
If you have received this message in error please advise us immediately and destroy all copies of it.

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________________________________

On Fri, Jan 9, 2015 at 11:43 PM, Mike Pumphrey <mike@anonymised.com>
wrote:

Hi all. Apologies for being away for a while. I have recently been given a
bit more time/space to contribute to GeoServer, and so my first thought
(unsurprisingly) was to see how the docs are doing.

Welcome back :slight_smile:

So I just wanted to solicit a few opinions here on the -devel list to
start for those who have been closer to the project than I have been:

* What are the major needs of the documentation as it exists now?

* What are the major gaps in the documentation (stuff not in there that

should be)?

Hum... answering both questions, maybe more tutorials around "full
solutions"? Like, our current guide is in many ways a reference,
people searching for "howto" style docs are often left out.

* Is it worth asking those two questions on the -users list as well?

Indeed I think it would be a good idea, after all, they are the primary
"users" (pun not intended) of the docs

Cheers
Andrea

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Welcome back Mike.

As a priority I would focus on new functionality coming into GeoServer for the 2.7 release. We will will link to these docs during release announcements to describe new features, and it is a great chance to grab documentation while the developers still know how things are supposed to work.

We are also starting to collect a large number of tutorials scattered throughout the user guide. It may be worth gathering these into a logical progression.

The REST API continues to be the largest source of confusion on the user list - no specific documentation recommendations here just a not for prioritization.

Jody