Genii Weblog


Civility in critiquing the ideas of others is no vice. Rudeness in defending your own ideas is no virtue.


Thu 21 Jul 2005, 04:05 PM
I have been thinking about the difference between documentation for products in PDF (or Word or WordPro) versus documentation in a Notes database.  There are advantages to each.  Documentation in a PDF document can be easily printed or downloaded.  Document is a Notes database can be more easily categorized in different ways.  I had just about decided that our product solutions, such as CoexLinks and CoexEdit, should be documented solely in PDF/Word format, and our product tools, such as the Midas Rich Text LSXMidas Rich Text C++ API and @Midas Formulas, would have databases (actually, they share one database) to allow separate handling for each class or method.

But, here we are, about to release CoexEdit 1.1, and already I am not so sure.  CoexLinks works fairly well with a PDF/Word document, and CoexEdit is installed the same way, and each solves a single problem in a simple, elegant way, so I thought they would be more similar.  What I forgot was how complex the web, and the web editors, can be.  CoexEdit needs documentation on more than installation.  It needs troubleshooting that has nothing to do with CoexEdit as software, but rather has to do with the web editor the developer is installing.  Since the developer thinks of that as going along with CoexEdit, and since CoexEdit won't work unless the web editor is installed properly, there are lots of little things to document, and there will be increasing numbers as we add direct support for more editors.

So, I am building a CoexEdit Help database.  It shares a basic design with the Midas Help database, but the content is fairly different.  There are some basic configuration technotes, release notes as issues are fixed and enhancements made, and then room for lots of growth in the web editor area.  Now, if only my daughter were not off working in college, she could help me write all this.  Sigh!

Copyright © 2005 Genii Software Ltd.

Thu 21 Jul 2005, 11:41 AM
London is one of my favorite cities, and it is very hard to hear about bombs and explosions in places I have been and plan to go again.  I cannot imagine the sorrow and fear amongst those who live in London or have loved ones there, but if there is one thing certain about London, it is that the people will not be beaten.  We may not all agree on how to fight this plague  of terror, but the best defense is to make sure it doesn't stop us from living our daily lives, to refuse to give in to the terror.  I certainly plan to visit London again as soon as I can.  A great city, and one that will survive and thrive despite these attacks.

Copyright © 2005 Genii Software Ltd.