Bob DuCharme, an skilled technical author and creator talks about writing documentation for software program merchandise. On this episode we focus on the varied forms of documentation that one creates for software program merchandise. Host Nikhil Krishna spoke with Bob in depth in regards to the distinction between a majority of these documentation and the audiences they aim; significance of utilizing correct grammar and readability in writing good documentation that folks wish to learn; different types of documentation (pictures, video and audio); challenges of sustaining and updating documentation; conserving documentation in sync with merchandise; toolchains for constructing documentation; historical past of software program documentation tooling and requirements.
This episode sponsored by OpenZiti.
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Nikhil Krishna 00:01:05 Good day and welcome to Software program Engineering Radio. I’m Nikhil and I’m a brand new host on Software program Engineering Radio, and I’ve the pleasure to introduce Bob DuCharme. Bob is an achieved author, software program engineer, and an information architect who has been concerned with the semantic internet since 2002. Bob is an creator who has written books for O’Reilly, Manning, and Prentice-Corridor — particularly, Studying SPARQL, XSLT Shortly, and The Annotated Specification and SGML CD for Prentice-Corridor. He’s additionally written in magazines, so he has written for the Modalities journal, O’Reilly Networks, XML.com, Dr. Dobbs channel, and even IBM technical books. He’s at present a technical author at Katana Graph, makers of a high-performance distributed graph database, and relies in Charlottesville, Virginia, and has 5 books and almost 100 on-line and print articles about IT. Bob is proud to have by no means used the phrase “performance” in any of them. Bob, is there something in your bio that I’d’ve missed or that you just want to add?
Bob Ducharme 00:02:16 I feel you’ve bought the important thing issues. I imply, I’ve kind of gone backwards and forwards between software program growth — answer architect is at all times such a obscure time period, however you recognize, serving to prospects work out what they’re going to do — and writing it up. So typically extra coding, however proper now I’m comfortable to be ready the place I’m just about a full-time author.
Nikhil Krishna 00:02:35 Superior. To offer listeners a bit of little bit of an summary on what they’re going to do on this explicit episode, we’re speaking about creating technical documentation. So, clearly there are numerous forms of documentation and you’ve got a task as a technical author proper now in Katana Graph. So maybe we should always begin with a bit of bit in regards to the technical author position itself. So, the primary query could be, why do we’d like this position? Why is the technical author needed for a software program group?
Bob Ducharme 00:03:06 Usually, when individuals get a product, they wish to know methods to use it. And there are good programmers on the market who know their favourite languages inside out and all of the cool issues you are able to do and methods to do them effectively. However these builders won’t know methods to clarify the top person utilization of these merchandise to people who find themselves new to it. So, explaining to individuals, determining what they’re going to wish to lookup and methods to do these items, that’s actually the tech author’s job: you recognize, to write down the person handbook, mainly, the person handbook or/and reference information and different issues like that, which we will discuss have overlapping obligations. However individuals will get a software program product, they wish to know methods to use it, so the tech author is the one who explains methods to use it.
Nikhil Krishna 00:03:50 Cool. So simply to dig in a bit of bit, what are the specialised abilities? So, what does the technical author carry to the job that perhaps a software program engineer with an English talking background can’t do?
Bob Ducharme 00:04:03 Properly, sometimes to take pleasure in writing. I imply, lots of people simply don’t prefer it; they view it as an terrible chore. Perhaps someone writes on the aspect or has a weblog or one thing like that, however you want to have the ability to speak and talk with on one hand the top customers and however with software program builders to know the technical elements. If a developer has a brand new characteristic and says, right here’s what it does, and that’s not clear, the technical author has to have the ability to ask the appropriate inquiries to say, ‘I get this half and this half, however this half right here, how does that work?’ They should kind of interview them to search out out the knowledge needed, to then clarify it to people who find themselves new to the product who don’t have that technical background. So, the communication ability goes in two instructions. One, to the end-user and two to the extra technical individuals, the builders.
Nikhil Krishna 00:04:50 So, does that imply that the technical author must have a software program engineering background as a result of if he’s speaking to software program builders about technical subjects, does that imply that you have to have that very same language of identical vocabulary to have the ability to perceive?
Bob Ducharme 00:05:08 It helps. I do have, since I first grew to become a technical author, I alongside the way in which did get a grasp’s in pc science. And that has helped me rather a lot to know the technical speak and likewise to assist type out precise technical phrases from buzzwords, which is one other factor, as a result of, you recognize, you hear these phrases getting thrown spherical. A few of them have particular meanings, a few of them get misused. So, I’ve typically joked in some locations that I’ve labored at having a grasp’s in pc science helps me to speak to the PhDs. After which translate what they’re saying to common individuals. So it helps, nevertheless it’s not essentially, particularly if the product is — some merchandise could have finish customers who’re non-technical. If it’s a cellphone app to assist monitor one thing, however some merchandise could have technical finish customers, particularly should you’re going to be writing about, an API or one thing like that. The flexibility to speak with the builders turns into increasingly essential then the extra technical viewers is.
Nikhil Krishna 00:06:05 Superior. So once more, simply to form of elaborate a bit of bit on that. So what sort of documentation, technical author sometimes concentrate on? Do they really create design or structure paperwork? Or is it extra like user-facing documentation, like manuals and installations? Is that, I suppose a operate of what sort of software program mission you’re writing documentation for? Or is that this one thing that as an ordinary is at all times going to be written by a technical author?
Bob Ducharme 00:06:38 I might say that you just’re, if somebody has a technical author position there, their main job is to write down user-facing documentation. These kind of structure diagrams and stuff, it’s fascinating to see these, and people are good background once they’re creating. But when an organization goes to funds to have a tech author that’s to have somebody who creates that a part of the product. The a part of the product that helps finish customers stand up and working. And there’s three fundamental forms of person documentation. And once I first began this, it was again within the day when there have been printed documentation. We might make three separate volumes for this on the locations the place I labored. The primary could be a reference information. A reference information ought to clarify mainly all the things someone sees within the product, each icon, each menu alternative. In the event that they take a look at one thing and suppose, what good is that?
Bob Ducharme 00:07:20 What’s that for? They need to be capable to shortly discover it and look it up and see what it does. After which aside from the reference information, the opposite huge one could be the person information. A person information is organized extra when it comes to the duties that the top person desires to do. The person information is de facto geared toward somebody who doesn’t know the product. So, for instance, if it’s a database program, it will say methods to create a brand new database, methods to put information in there, methods to edit it. You’d talked about, I wrote a e book referred to as “XSLT Shortly” for Manning, which was in regards to the XSLT language for manipulating XML. And I had come from a background with SGML earlier than that; XML is mainly a less complicated model of SGML. And my work with SGML enabled me to, once I wrote the define for the XSLT e book, earlier than I even knew methods to write any XSLT, I used to be nonetheless in a position to write a person information define as a result of I knew what the duties individuals needed to do had been: Create new parts, rename parts, convert parts to attributes and backwards and forwards, delete, rename.
Bob Ducharme 00:08:17 I knew what the fundamental duties had been, in order that I might create an overview that stated issues like, Find out how to Create Parts, Find out how to Delete Parts, Find out how to Rename Attributes, and so forth. So, when somebody’s a person information, they wish to see the names of the duties. The person information shouldn’t be speaking within the technical language, or no less than the Desk of Contents shouldn’t be speaking within the technical language of the product. It must be speaking when it comes to the duties that customers wish to get finished. And that’s not at all times simple as a result of you must, perhaps work with advertising and marketing and work with among the UI builders to search out out, to know the customers, what are they attempting to do with this product? What are the varied issues? How do these issues match collectively? You actually need to get contained in the person’s head, so you’ll be able to then clarify right here’s how to do that. Right here’s how to do that. And that brings me to the third class of documentation together with reference information and person guides could be, I’d name it a fast begin or getting began, however a tutorial. Generally I’ve seen getting began to cowl set up as properly, however a tutorial for somebody who’s by no means used the product, which I contemplate virtually like a demo, like giving a demo to your self, you recognize: the 1st step, click on right here, step two, click on right here on this comes up. That’s for this nice motive, as a result of to kind of showcase the cool elements of the product, perhaps even it’s in a manner, much like what somebody giving a demo in entrance of a convention would possibly do. To undergo 10 or 15 steps to point out the cool elements of the product. The tutorial, I feel, is one thing the place a script somebody may give that demo to themselves and see how cool the product is and methods to do the fundamental issues. So these, I suppose, could be the three classes, reference information, person information, and a fast begin tutorial.
Nikhil Krishna 00:09:50 In order a software program developer, if I’m on this subject, what are the talents I must domesticate? Perhaps are there some easy tips that as builders, we will observe to enhance our documentation for perhaps our aspect mission? Or perhaps even when it’s not our mission and we’ve been requested to do some documentation, what are some easy tips or issues that we will do to guarantee that we’re writing good technical documentation?
Bob Ducharme 00:10:23 And right here’s one thing I’m most likely going to say rather a lot: there are quite a lot of analogies to writing the software program itself. So, for instance, with documentation, if the software program was developed from a well-organized set of necessities, these necessities are going to be very helpful to you. You realize, there’s this listing saying prospects ought to be capable to do that, prospects ought to be capable to do that, buyer ought to be capable to do that. So, in case you have some well-written necessities, that’s an amazing place to begin. Right here’s how to do that, right here’s how to do that. Different issues embrace, I at all times like to consider two lessons of reviewers. If you write, explaining one thing, you wish to present it to, after all, a developer or somebody to just remember to defined it accurately, that you just didn’t get something improper. However you additionally wish to, what I name a audience reviewer — somebody who doesn’t know the product however has some curiosity in studying the product; have them learn what you wrote and see, might they observe alongside? Did your rationalization work for them? And if not, the place? So these two sorts of reviewers I feel, are essential to remember if you’re creating one thing.
Nikhil Krishna 00:11:26 Okay. So, are there any easy issues that we will do when it comes to the language itself? So perhaps, it is a great way of placing, so is grammatical accuracy completely write to? Or is it okay to say, okay so long as I’m technically correct some grammatical difficulty are wonderful, it’s not that sturdy. What do you suppose?
Bob Ducharme 00:11:57 Properly, I imply grammar it’s not like, if you’re writing code and should you forgot a semi-colon the entire thing’s not going to compile, proper? It’ll nonetheless be there. But when the grammar is unhealthy, it’s most likely going to be tougher to know. You realize, in case you have a plural topic with a singular verb, individuals studying it, aren’t going to cease and return and it’s going to be tougher to observe. So, I feel grammatical accuracy, easy issues like that and punctuation, these items I feel are essential. It’s going to be tougher for the technical elements to be put throughout if it’s finished with errors within the grammar. I do know one other after we had been in secondary college and we wrote these papers and handed them in and our lecturers gave them again with a number of purple markings saying you employ the passive voice right here.
Bob Ducharme 00:12:42 It’s best to have used the lively voice. There are causes for these items and just like the well-known Strunk and White e book on Parts of Fashion, it makes your writing simpler to learn. To do issues like that, it’s to mimic good writers. I imply, to fluctuate the construction of your sentences. I imply if you’re studying somebody whose studying you want, typically it’s good to cease and step by and suppose, properly, why do I like this particular person’s writing? Have a look at the construction of the sentences, into the combo up lengthy ones and quick ones and issues like that. If it’s simpler to learn, persons are going to have extra motivation to learn it and also you need individuals to learn it. However one other level I used to be going to carry up, a giant distinction from technical writing from different typical prose writing is that folks aren’t going to learn what you wrote from starting to finish.
Bob Ducharme 00:13:27 You realize, it’s not a novel. They picked up that documentation as a result of they wish to look one thing up. They wish to see methods to do one thing. And in order that’s with technical writing, we sometimes encourage extra use, making it simpler to skim by doing issues like bulleted lists, numbered lists, tables. If it’s simply grey paragraphs on a white web page, it’s rather a lot tougher to search out. I imply, you’ll be able to put quite a lot of subheads in, I suppose, and with on-line documentation too, it’s simpler to go looking, which was not the case with exhausting copy paper. I’ll throw in earlier than I overlook about with lists, bulleted listing versus numbered lists. I’ve seen individuals will typically use numbered lists when they need to have used a bulleted listing. If I say, there are three issues to recollect if you’re going to do that one, growth, two, growth, three, growth.
Bob Ducharme 00:14:13 Properly, are these three issues, is that order actually important for that? In fact, it’s important if you’re writing an set up information. To do that, set these setting variables, run this script, obtain this, after all these steps definitely need to be a numbered listing. But when I say, you recognize, there are three issues to recollect. I discover that folks typically are very fast to make one thing, a numbered listing when it doesn’t actually must be one, it must be a bulleted listing. So issues like that, over the lists, nested bulleted lists, listed numbered lists, these items are how we break down the knowledge that we’re presenting so that folks can skim and discover the solutions to the questions they’ve, about methods to do issues along with your product.
Nikhil Krishna 00:14:54 That’s very fascinating. And I discover it fascinating that you just talked about that giant blobs of grey textual content on a web page don’t form of encourage you to learn it. So, I used to be considering of, what do you concentrate on among the newer methods I’ve seen documentation form of get created, proper? So now it’s not simply textual content, it’s additionally video or pictures. There’s quite a lot of wealthy media that may be leveraged. So, what do you suppose generally of that development? Do you suppose it’s one thing that may be thought of technical writing so as of the significance of doc? I imply, do we have to have the identical form of consideration if you’re creating your tutorial video as you do if you create an FAQ or a tutorial doc?
Bob Ducharme 00:15:47 Certain. I feel, after we say technical author, I keep in mind that there was a corporation, I feel I could have been a member years in the past, referred to as the Society of Technical Communicators (STC). The individuals who take into consideration these different media as properly. I feel if you get into different media in addition to textual content, once more like with software program, if you’re creating one thing, you must take into consideration how maintainable is that this factor I’m creating? Six months from now, if the product adjustments and that is out of date, do I’ve to redo the entire thing? Can I’m going in and repair one little bit? I imply, should you wrote a sequence of bulleted numbered lists and you have to add one listing merchandise to one of many lists within the textual content, that’s simple sufficient. When you spent seven hours making a half hour video and, and among the issues midway via it now not apply, then that’s an even bigger deal.
Bob Ducharme 00:16:37 I imply, even with screenshots, even with pictures, typically, I used to be working someplace as soon as the place they modified the brand of the product that was within the higher left. So, all the things nonetheless labored the identical, however now all these screenshots, they seemed outdated. And there are methods to cope with it however considering forward about maintainability like that, is essential. And getting again to movies, think about a 20-minute video that explains methods to do 10 issues. And now the fourth factor is completed in a different way. So, you’re going to remake the entire video and that may be an actual ache. So, one method is to have a sequence of 2-minute movies that designate methods to do a selected factor. That’s not at all times as simple because it sounds as a result of a few of these issues could be constructing on one another and likewise managing a bunch of 2-minute movies and their relationships and making it clear to the viewers, which one goes with which, there’s the upkeep is harder.
Bob Ducharme 00:17:31 I feel movies are particularly helpful if it’s a graphical person interface and for demos. We click on right here after which right here after which this pops up and look, there’s our information. And look it bought processed and now we will see the outcomes of the question or the evaluation. I feel that’s very helpful to point out how some issues, though one other factor about creating movies is that folks may be, audio high quality. Generally individuals suppose, properly, my coworkers can hear me along with his headset I’m carrying on a zoom name. So, my audio high quality is okay. Whereas, I imply, you and I, we had a separate assembly earlier than our dialogue at present, simply to speak about mics and the rooms we’d be in and recording. So, podcasters after all care extra about, suppose tougher about, having good audio high quality. Generally when individuals make movies to demo software program, they’ll simply use the identical mic and so forth. They do it within the assembly and don’t understand that may actually diminish the product.
Bob Ducharme 00:18:26 So simply going out and shopping for a $20 Microsoft mic may also help. I imply, I suppose I’m form of rambling right here, however I want to point out in addition to completely different sorts of applied sciences for creating documentation, together with video and pictures and audio, one other one which’s I feel getting used increasingly nowadays of particularly the merchandise that contain code, are notebooks like Jupiter notebooks, Zeppelin notebooks. These are nice as a result of they allow you to format issues, have your bulleted numbered lists and all that, and blend them with code that folks can then see, execute themselves. Or I put in a pattern, somebody studying it may modify the pattern and see that. So, I feel that’s been a reasonably thrilling growth in documentation of code. It doesn’t assist a lot with graphical person interfaces. In order that was form of rambling. I hope I addressed, if there’s something I missed, let me know.
Nikhil Krishna 00:19:20 No, I feel you probably did fairly properly. So clearly we’ve got touched upon among the challenges of sustaining video versus textual content. And that I feel can be form of brings out an underlying level, which is that software program merchandise aren’t a snapshots that by no means modified, proper? Software program merchandise evolve over time. Documentation must be up to date. And the extra documentation you could have of various ranges of depth, there’s at all times one thing that must be modified, proper? So even when it’s a minor model improve, and perhaps there’s an API change that wants the reference handbook could possibly be up to date, for instance. So clearly this has penalties. In order individuals want used paperwork which might be now not right, get annoyed. So from a person perspective undoubtedly, old-fashioned documentation is an issue. However how do you really see, do we’ve got an answer from a course of perspective or a tooling perspective, how do you really work with, how do you evolve the documentation together with software program? Let’s say.
Bob Ducharme 00:20:29 Properly, two issues right here. One, I suppose, could be the creation, upkeep, and one other could be distribution. For creation and upkeep, it’s increasingly mainly, you examine it into the model management system. Right here’s the brand new options for launch 4.2. Right here’s the write-up of launch 4.2. And that manner they will, they keep in sync. For distribution, what I’ve seen quite a lot of corporations do, I imply Katana Graph does as properly, is once they’re publishing the documentation, as a result of most documentation, nowadays it’s going to be HTML, proper? You’re going to have mainly an internet site exhibiting the books and the subsections and you may navigate via there. So that you may need, the HTML would typically embrace, or relatively the URLs would typically embrace the discharge quantity proper in it. So, it’s like your organization title.com/documentation/ 4.2 slash index HTML, after which slash 4.3 and you may go away all of them up there. After which what quite a lot of corporations will do is that they’ll have your organization title.com/documentation/newest, which is about to redirect to the newest one. In order that manner you’re leaving all of the documentation up from a number of releases similtaneously a distribution factor, however there’s nonetheless a single URL, the most recent one. So that folks can see what’s the present state of the documentation and what’s the documentation for the present state of the product.
Nikhil Krishna 00:21:51 So simply to form of additionally take into consideration out loud of among the options over there. So, you talked about versioning methods. So do you suppose, is that form of like versioning methods the way in which we take into consideration software program versioning methods? Perhaps get a sub-version, do you suppose that versioning which might be instruments like Google docs which have variations in it and even Dropbox, for instance. Issues like fundamental versioning of paperwork now, do you suppose that’s, which to you suppose you favor sustaining, documentation. And in addition remember the fact that, okay, like we had mentioned earlier. A few of that documentation could be binary, so we don’t actually have a manner of conserving parts of the doc ID. If it’s like a picture you logged and that you just up to date your picture, you’re going to have the whole picture once more, attempt to enable a brand new copy of the picture portion of the picture. So what do you suppose is appropriate? Is it wonderful to make use of Google docs or do you suppose that technical writers want to make use of the identical throughout that point?
Bob Ducharme 00:23:01 They should use the identical tooling as builders. However I imply, the truth that the versioning can sync proper in with the software program itself, as a result of quite a lot of documentation now, I imply, I might focus on this extra later, however persons are creating recordsdata. You’re writing recordsdata which might be then going to be a part of a construct for documentation in order that, like this HTML primarily based distribution, I discussed, if a designer on the firm decides, oh, I don’t like this font, or we’d like an even bigger margin right here. They’re going to vary some CSS and like with any web site then regenerate all the things. In order that technology is a part of it’s, it’s a constructed similar to with software program. The truth is, some corporations it’s a part of the identical constructed like constructing the software program. So working with that system of the construct, the usage of the checking within the instruments and tagging and Git, you’ll be able to actually make the most of all the identical issues you are able to do with code to try this. With one thing like Google docs,
Bob Ducharme 00:23:55 I imply, I feel it’s nice for inner documentation, however I at all times thought the worst case with documentation. Some little corporations will do is that they create a Phrase file, proper? Right here’s a 5-page Phrase file about methods to use the product. After which when a brand new launch comes, they’ll pull up their Phrase file and revise, a few of it. And so they’ll put, I hate once they put the Phrase ultimate within the file title. Perhaps generate a PDF from that, or perhaps even give individuals the Phrase file, which is a reasonably amateurish option to do it. And Google docs is nice for therefore many issues, however the versioning of it in tying that to launch variations of the software program, I feel you’re a lot better off utilizing the instruments {that a} software program firm already has in place to try this. To do Git or Bitbucket or no matter, to maintain monitor of the items and the connection of the items and the connection of these items to the releases. So it’s typically for a tech author to be taught the archana of Git may be irritating, nevertheless it’s not such as you’re doing quite a lot of rebasing and so forth with the documentation. So that you don’t need to get that far into the tough Git weeds, in my expertise to this point.
Nikhil Krishna 00:25:00 Yeah. That’s an amazing level. And simply, so that you talked about additionally earlier about publishing the doc as a HTML web site. So, one of many issues I’ve observed, particularly within the open-source world is the rise of those particular issues like learn the tops or a selected form of web site software program as a service platforms, proper? The place Git books, learn the docs, et cetera, the place they really deal with the internet hosting and publication and so they even have, issues like looking out your documentation throughout varied variations, et cetera. So, from that perspective, do you could have a course of on a software chain from constructing documentation from the purpose of, okay, I’ve now entered the content material. So, I do know that is the content material that I want to publish. After which form of like, is that like software chain that you just’ve used, or perhaps you’ll be able to speak a bit of bit about your expertise with older instruments and stuff like that. However sometimes what’s the software chain that one sometimes makes use of these days to generate these web sites and the CSS and HTML and all that?
Bob Ducharme 00:26:23 I feel among the hottest instruments now are mainly instruments for technology of static web sites which might be typically specialised for documentation. So, for instance, the place I’m now, and it would in my final place that I held earlier than we use Sphinx. With Sphinx you’re creating the precise content material in restructured texts. It’s a type of markdown descendants. So Astros on both aspect, to daring or italics and so forth, however then you’ll be able to nonetheless have your CSS and have the construction to point out that these six pages right here, I wish to create a Desk of Contents right here that has these six on this order. And that every one will get automated the technology of all that HTML. And when you could have these recordsdata like this, the RST and the CSS and different issues like that, it makes it simpler to include it right into a model management, into Git or one thing like that.
Bob Ducharme 00:27:18 Then it will be should you had been like revising Phrase recordsdata time and again. So it may be a part of the software program documentation software chain. After which they’ll have a go course of and a few locations will combine it extra deeply or not into the software program construct course of. However as a part of a launch you wish to be sure to’re getting the three factors stuff. 3.2 stuff, 3.2 product and three.2 code all in the identical place. So it typically is tightly built-in there. So I’ve discovered that very helpful. And it’s additionally due to its relation to markdown. It’s simpler for builders are used to that. So that they don’t thoughts writing in that if I might again off and go into a bit of historical past again within the, I suppose within the Eighties, there have been when computerized typesetting was turning into a giant factor. These corporations would say, yeah, you’ll be able to ship recordsdata with codes of the way you need your books laid out and the place you need the fonts and all that.
Bob Ducharme 00:28:13 And in these days it might have been delivered on tape for all I do know. So you set in these codes, would you wish to have these codes if you need a subhead and these codes for bullets and so forth, however completely different competing corporations doing that. That they had their very own units of codes and a few individuals, I feel some at IBM particularly, I do know for certain, however another locations as properly, they stated, wait a minute, we don’t wish to tie up all of our, have all of our documentation written utilizing your proprietary codes. We wish to have extra flexibility. So, they got here up with a, what grew to become an ISO customary. SGML a option to outline the construction of a doc after which to make use of that construction definition to say, you recognize, let’s say you’re going to have a cookbook. I wish to create one thing it’s going to be a number of recipes.
Bob Ducharme 00:28:57 And a recipe’s title, after which it’s a listing of substances and a listing of steps. After which there’s going to be an element what number of it serves. So with this SGML you may outline a construction like this after which create the paperwork on this case, recipes, after which automate the checking of people who construction confined to, does it observe the construction that I outlined? And should you, should you notice it follows a construction, you may automate much more. You possibly can then flip, and that is within the early days of multimedia getting past paper. I’m going to show it into on-line, assist. I’m going to show into CD ROMs. I’m going to show into HTML. And so I bought concerned in HTML and I might go to the conferences and I bought to know among the individuals who did it.
Bob Ducharme 00:29:35 And a few of them realized SGML and among the software program was very costly doing this. A number of the SGML was very sophisticated. So, a few of these individuals bought collectively and thought we have to create a less complicated, simpler model of SGML. One thing that wouldn’t take a lot computing energy, one thing that could possibly be parsed with a program that’s you’ll be able to simply obtain over the web with this new language, Solar Microsystems has referred to as Java. In order that was 90’s, I suppose? So, they had been engaged on the simplified model of SGML. They first, the primary authentic working title for it was Net SGML, not as catchy. After which somebody considered a catchier title, XML. And that’s the place XML comes from. It was a simplified model of SGML. So, quite a lot of the software chains SGML when it was invented for this, that’s what locations like Boeing and huge protection contractors to doc the engine elements they had been considering again then, that documentation, we should always deal with it like software program when it comes to breaking it down into elements.
Bob Ducharme 00:30:36 If this subsystem of this engine can be used on different engines as properly, we should always be capable to write up methods to clear, methods to restore this sub system after which take that write up and add it to the documentation for the opposite engines as properly. So these had been among the early strikes towards making documentation componentize, similar to software program in order that it could possibly be blended and matched and used for various merchandise. And there could be the software chains for SGML and later XML to do what I used to be saying about syncs now that you’d have your CSS right here you’d have instruments for producing the HTML from there, or the net assist or the CD rom. Builders didn’t like dealing instantly with the XML as a lot, markdowns are a bit of easier. And there have been instruments to be a bit of extra gooey-ish, a bit of look, a bit of extra like WORD that will nonetheless output the suitable XML, however typically these could possibly be costly.
Bob Ducharme 00:31:30 In order that’s one other kind of lineage of the software chain for creating software program documentation, {hardware}, documentation is XML and associated instruments. Folks don’t understand that that’s what XML was for as a result of when it was XML was first invented, it was across the time of the.com growth. And with the.com growth, early 2000’s. There have been individuals, you recognize, we’re going to have seamless e-commerce and have this pc talk with that different one throughout the net to ship the orders and reply to the orders, however sending and responding to those orders, they needed to ship these batches of information that didn’t essentially match into CSV. They’d have extra sophisticated constructions than that. So that they noticed this XML factor from the W3C. We will outline our personal constructions. You realize, right here’s the start of a order, right here’s the top, right here’s the handle, right here’s the listing of things being ordered and so forth. So that they began utilizing XML for that, to do that E-commerce. Mainly the form of issues persons are utilizing Jason for now. They began utilizing it and thought, that is excellent. After which they determined, no, this isn’t excellent in any respect. That the information typing system is bizarre and whoever designed it did a horrible job. Properly, they didn’t understand that whoever designed XML was not designing it for the makes use of they had been placing it for. For dealing with arbitrary handfuls of information about transactions backwards and forwards.
Nikhil Krishna 00:33:28 Simply to shortly simply soar in on over there. So, I keep in mind that we went down this complete path with XML in regards to the internet standing, the Ws star, and the entire set of VEP service X quantity of requirements. I feel one of many, perhaps the issues that form of led to the adoption of Json and the requirements like that was the truth that you could have the entire sediment right here how, what the doc must be like. However I additionally keep in mind at the moment, there was this competing, talking for documentation, there was this different factor referred to as RDF, proper? And I used to be simply questioning, was that really one thing that might have, if appropriately championed being one thing that form of to go over the documentation aspect of issues that XML form of was meant to have, or meant to be for?
Bob Ducharme 00:34:25 No RDF is nice at metadata paperwork, however to have a sequence of paragraphs with sentences the place there’s inline factor in the midst of a sentence, I’ve a hyperlink, I’ve a bolded time period, RDF will not be good for that. Our RDF is about decreasing information down to those three elements statements referred to as triples. So I can say worker 38 has a rent date of January 1st, worker 38 has the final title of Smith. After which the pliability that RDF offers you over one thing like a relational database permits a a number of new issues, together with the flexibility to mixture information from completely different sources and issues like that. And I imply, I might go on and on about RDF, however for linear
Nikhil Krishna 00:35:07 So it does extra of that one thing that XML was attempting to goal to be that what the web site was maybe a greater manner of doing it.
Bob Ducharme 00:35:21 You realize for one thing like Json, you’re higher off, I feel. With RDF, the metadata, when you could have particularly quite a lot of, within the subject of digital humanities and quite a lot of publishers, they’ve content material from a number of completely different locations and so they wish to hold monitor of the content material and that content material, in these various things could have completely different bits of metadata, however typically they’re associated, although they’re completely different as a result of from this requirements, physique or that one, and so mapping between the requirements of the dig after which question throughout all their metadata for a spread of thess, RDS actually good for that. However not for the content material itself, the kind of narrative content material of paragraphs and bulleted and numbered lists. We might do complete solid on RDF.
Nikhil Krishna 00:36:00 Yeah. So to return again a bit of bit on again to our technical documentation matter, one of many issues that I’ve seen, you talked about utilizing swings and the software chains like that. And we additionally mentioned among the older instruments like SGML and XML, nevertheless it gave the impression to be typically that relying on the kind of documentation, a few of these is extra automatable and others are much less, proper? So, for instance, we talked about earlier in what sort of technical documentation must be generated. We talked about FAQ’s tutorials, high-level technical paperwork, which clarify issues to non-technical individuals. However on the identical time, in case you have one thing like a Jess on API or HPP API, we even have instruments that like Swagger, which you’ll simply discover that the, the specs or the API itself, in some circumstances form of generates the documentation out of it, proper?
Nikhil Krishna 00:37:10 It’s virtually like you’ll be able to take a look at the forms of the varied response requests and that form of create a doc that permits you to, in some circumstances, even create pattern instance requests and responses that you should use for testing. However I typically get the sensation that, okay, that’s once more, too low stage. The place do you see the steadiness between the 2 must be? And the way a lot of the documentation that’s generated for a software program mission may be generated like that? And the way a lot of it’s nonetheless one thing that you just wish to just remember to write within the correct method?
Bob Ducharme 00:37:52 That’s query. I feel, like I discussed one thing like a tutorial, you actually wish to think twice in regards to the order you’re going to elucidate issues in what you could have the particular person do of the three buckets. I discussed of tutorials, reference guides and person guides. With reference guides, it may be a bit of extra automated like with Swagger, I’ve used it however I can’t keep in mind the title. Is that, was that the software you talked about that may pull issues out of APIs and generator?
Nikhil Krishna 00:38:20 Yeah. So spider is mainly a part of the open MPI. I feel it’s referred to as the Json API documentation tooling and what it does is it appears at Json’s paperwork and form of generates the request agenda web-based documentation, which has which particulars on all of the lists of all of the attributes properties after which the forms of it. Which isÖ
Bob Ducharme 00:38:47 And I consider it can pull out
Nikhil Krishna 00:38:50 Yeah, it pulls out among the feedback as properly from the entrance, from the operate. So you will get a excessive stage, two line description of what the API does, however then that is dependent upon how properly, if
Bob Ducharme 00:39:02 Precisely, and, and that’s rubbish in rubbish out. I imply, that’s a software that may undergo and pull out and see, oh, this operate takes three parameters and the parameters are presupposed to be of those sorts. And it returns one thing of this kind. That’s good to automate the pulling of all that and the enumeration of it, however this, the doc strings, how typically have we seen doc strings? So simply clarify what we wished to elucidate. So, and that may be a tech author operate to, to evaluate that documentation after which perhaps create some tickets and say, hey, you return and revise that doc string to elucidate that higher. Certainly one of my pet peeves is whether or not it’s explaining the fields on a dialog field or parameter being handed to a operate. If we are saying right here’s a parameter referred to as Fu and the documentation says, enter the Fu worth there. And I’m considering, okay, however what’s Fu? What position does Fu play on this software? And what sort of issues would possibly I put there? So the reason that goes in there, instruments like that, they’re like bare instruments. It’s nice how they will pull all the things collectively after which create the factor you’re on the lookout for. However the issues they’re pulling collectively need to have some high quality in them and typically they may also help level to which elements must be up to date, however nonetheless it’s rubbish in rubbish out.
Nikhil Krishna 00:40:22 Proper. So now that you just talked about that he had talked about conserving and utilizing the identical Git tooling and the movement tooling and attempting to maintain the documentation variations the identical because the software program. In order each portion of software program, you additionally purchased the model of documentation that form of preserve that. So mainly we might, if we form of, from a course of perspective, say being self-aware as a software program engineer, we mainly approached doc strings or feedback. And we form of write a correct rationalization for each operate. And mainly attempt to use that as documentation. Do you suppose that theoretically, it’s attainable to form of combine that in. Do you continue to really feel that there’s a separate place, require a separate folder or perhaps a separate mission inside your Git repository that you must hold a separate viewpoint, separate perspective, or a separate kind of documentation?
Bob Ducharme 00:41:29 This actually will get again, I feel, to the excellence between reference guides and person guides. Reference guides that’s all reference information stuff. You realize, you wish to listing all the things. I imply, I feel when somebody appears at a product and so they see some unusual icon or menu alternative and suppose, properly, what’s that for? The reference information is the place they might look it as much as discover it out. The truth is, with a graphical person interface, and this may be tough, however I feel it’s essential. Each software tip must be, if there’s some unusual icon, you don’t know what it means, however you mouse over it and also you see some software tip. That software tip must be one thing that the person can search on within the reference information. And, I’ve labored locations the place I needed to inform the shopper builders earlier than every new launch, which software suggestions bought modified?
Bob Ducharme 00:42:11 I would like to have the ability to title all of the software suggestions within the documentation, as a result of that’s the hook for individuals to search out out what the icon is for. So quite a lot of the reference guides for not just for technical issues like APIs, however even for the gooey, as a result of for the graphical person interface to elucidate all the things they see, they need to be capable to lookup what that’s. Alternatively, some extent I wished to carry up about person guides is that properly, I discussed how, once I wrote up Desk of Contents for an XSLT e book, I didn’t use any XSLT phrases. I talked in regards to the duties to do. If let’s say, for instance, your product has a part to develop a schema and it’s referred to as Schema Wiz, okay? And also you’re going to doc that, to me if the person information has a header referred to as Getting Began with Schema Wiz, that’s not an excellent title.
Bob Ducharme 00:43:00 I imply, I wish to see titles like Making a New Schema, Revising an Previous Schema, Deleting Schemas. Naming the duties that must be finished versus utilizing the phrases you made up to your product as a part of the driving force of the person information. So I suppose to get again to your query about a spot for one thing separate from the, the listing of issues, that’s the place the person guides go. To one thing organized by the duties they wish to do, versus one thing that’s organized by the product itself, being organized by the product itself continues to be essential as a result of that’s the place they see one thing on the product that, that’s the place they go the reference information to see what is that this factor for? What good will this do for me? So, I suppose to simplify, to getting again to your authentic query, that’s the distinction to me between reference guides and person guides.
Nikhil Krishna 00:43:48 Proper. So once more, these days mainly there may be this concept of an X Esco philosophy, proper? So, you could have dev sec ops documented. So, we’ve got safety as code configuration, Esco X, one thing else. That is philosophy that all the things form of begins turning into encode. We form of been discussing how shut documentation is and our how they’re with code, so ought to we be treating, approaching our documentation as code and form of fully have, not simply the portion management, have software program processes for it. So, we will have like who to request for documentation, the ICD for different documentation. Now we have like a evaluate course of. Now we have like, we’ve got documentation evaluations. What do you concentrate on this explicit? What’s your opinion on this?
Bob Ducharme 00:44:51 I imply, I agree with it. I feel that treating it as code, helps you to make the most of all these instruments that you’ve that you have already got to work along with your code. So, for instance with evaluations, evaluate of documentation, like code evaluations, quite a lot of corporations, I write one thing I want it reviewed. I created a journal ticket, to assign somebody to evaluate it. After which we are saying this, this characteristic is held up till somebody does the evaluate, similar to when somebody’s reviewing some C code that was written. So, I feel that treating it as code has the benefit of letting you make the most of all these instruments. We simply, why the old school manner of making a WORD file to have the documentation there. It doesn’t allow you to make the most of these instruments and issues. So, utilizing the software set is the benefit you get from treating it as code. So, I feel that’s been inspired in quite a lot of locations proper right down to the usage of JIRA tickets to assign documentation duties.
Nikhil Krishna 00:45:46 Okay. So then if provided that proper, that in smaller corporations, additionally it is typically the position of whoever’s doing the software program documentation to additionally develop issues for advertising and marketing, proper? And for Gross sales. So, then you could have like in startup, you may need the identical technical author and even software program developer, for instance, being approached by the advertising and marketing division and saying, Hey, okay, we want you to write-up one thing about this explicit characteristic that we will publish or share with the e-mail publication, for instance. Do you suppose the talents required for this sort of writing, writing advertising and marketing content material and writing gross sales content material, how related is that? Or how completely different is it from writing technical documentation?
Bob Ducharme 00:46:42 I feel it’s very related as a result of, particularly if you’re writing technical documentation, issues like tutorials, as I discussed, and even launch notes, I thought of to basically be advertising and marketing paperwork as a result of with each the tutorial and launch notes, what you’re seeing is take a look at this cool stuff. Isn’t this nice? Right here’s this factor so that you can use. So I consider them as, as advertising and marketing documentation. Advertising and marketing communications is a option to promote issues. To say, what are the good issues in regards to the product and why individuals must be inquisitive about utilizing it. Inside a corporation you’re typically working with the advertising and marketing individuals. You grow to be the tech editor, they may begin throwing the issues that make your product cool, perhaps related to buzzwords that they prefer to throw round, however don’t perceive, that’s fairly widespread. So making that technical documentation extra, making the advertising and marketing communications extra technically correct, I feel is a giant a part of that. And so they’re often comfortable to have you ever proper? Or a few locations I’ve labored the place they’ll have a software program developer write a weblog entry. And then you definately, because the tech author, rearrange it a bit to make it extra, user-friendly not solely to prospects, however to potential prospects. I imply, individuals who simply got here throughout your weblog and are much more on technical, however they will get perhaps shopping for the product in order that the technical author is kind of coordinating between builders and advertising and marketing individuals to assist create new weblog entries.
Nikhil Krishna 00:48:09 So we must also embrace this class into our concept of documentation as code and form of subjected to the identical form of processes. Do you suppose that that’s to work? So, is that one thing that’s tough to do if you begin involving third events like gross sales and advertising and marketing and all of these individuals who will not be aware of it?
Bob Ducharme 00:48:36 Yeah, most likely not the identical processes as a result of, you recognize, gross sales and advertising and marketing individuals it’s, you recognize, assigning them tickets and having them examine issues into Git, it could be a bit an excessive amount of to ask for. However I feel serving to them to coordinate the content material itself to guarantee that it’s technically correct, however well-written, that every one is, I feel very helpful and so they’re most likely going to have their very own instruments. You realize, they could be creating PowerPoint shows and so they need your assist with that or Phrase recordsdata that they’re going to flip into PDF. So, they’re going to have their very own processes and the developer processes of utilizing Git and so forth might be going to be over their heads. However, you recognize, you’re the liaison between them, between the advertising and marketing individuals and the builders. It’s your job as a tech author to translate the technical stuff to the non-technical individuals. So that’s an fascinating place to assist apply that. To serving to with the advertising and marketing.
Nikhil Krishna 00:49:27 Superior. So, Bob I feel we’ve form of reached the top of what I had in thoughts. In our dialog to this point, we’ve talked about software program documentation from the angle of a reference manuals and person manuals and guides and issues like that. There’s additionally, particularly should you’re writing, should you’re a part of a software program mission, that’s a reasonably substantial shock software program product you could be requested, properly, can we create a e book grant? Can we create some form of substantial artifact out of it? Proper? So perhaps we publish a e book in regards to the mission. Is that the identical as, or much like, when it comes to course of, to creating technical documentation? Do you suppose a e book is an effective manner of writing a few software program product that retains altering and retains evolving, simply a few questions?
Bob Ducharme 00:50:27 Properly, you may, I imply the person information materials you could have, that that could possibly be an output format. There are methods to simply flip that into a tough copy e book, however I feel a associated difficulty a few e book is that some individuals will we’ll see, okay, O’Reilly has a bunch of books about Oracle merchandise. You realize, that will be cool if there was an O’Reilly e book about our product or Manning or one of many huge pc publishers, some workplaces the place individuals thought, oh, wouldn’t that be cool? And writing a separate e book to go along with a writer. I imply, some publishers will work with you to do a brief e book you could then give away, however you recognize, that’s going to value you cash, however to write down an entire e book about one thing that may be a kind of separate entity from a separate writer, it’s enjoyable when it’s finished, nevertheless it’s much more work than individuals understand.
Bob Ducharme 00:51:13 And you recognize, we had been speaking earlier about one of many points of constructing movies is you set an enormous quantity of labor in one thing that could possibly be out of date six months later. When you’re going to place 5 or 600 hours into writing a e book that’s going to be, that might doubtlessly be out of date a 12 months later, a 12 months and a half later. And that’s an essential factor to consider the assets that go into the creation of the e book. And once I’ve written books, they’ve often been about requirements as a result of requirements transfer extra slowly of their upgrades than merchandise from corporations. So, should you’re writing about launch 3.2, when 3.5 is out, individuals aren’t going to look too exhausting at your e book and it may be much more, some individuals will they’ll suppose like, properly it takes me half an hour to write down a web page.
Bob Ducharme 00:51:59 So a 300-page e book that will take me 150 hours and that’s not the way it works. You realize, one of many causes you may write that web page in half an hour is since you already had that web page’s value of content material in your head, all organized. There’s much more work to do to prepare the content material for 300 pages. Secondly, even should you might write 300 pages in 150 hours, that’s simply your first draft. It’s bought to undergo further drafts simply to enhance the writing to verify it’s technically right. Plus, you’re going to have quite a lot of analysis to do. Some individuals suppose, oh, properly, we might do it in half the time if two individuals wrote it collectively, nevertheless it’s going to be extra like 70% of the time as a result of you must coordinate what you’re doing. After which as soon as the factor will get upgraded your e book goes to look old-fashioned. So there are some highlights to writing a e book about your software program to be printed by a writer that — I used to be going to say places issues in bookstores. We don’t see that a lot, however — places issues on Amazon the place individuals can purchase the e book, however it may be much more work and you must contemplate how shortly it can grow to be out of date. Upon getting an improve or two, it’s all this work you probably did as already historical past. Does that handle what you had been asking? I used to be form of rambling there.
Nikhil Krishna 00:53:07 I feel that’s an amazing overview of among the challenges of e book writing, and I’m certain not the least of additionally it is the completely different course of that the e book publishers may need. Proper? It won’t be the identical factor that you just’re used to following along with your technical articles the place you most likely editorial oversight as properly. However yeah, I feel that’s, that’s an amazing level to form of finish this podcast. I simply wished to ask if listeners would be taught to observe or contact you, if there are, perhaps you’d like to speak about among the issues that you just’re engaged on proper now, that is your probability.
Bob Ducharme 00:53:50 If individuals wish to contact me on Twitter, I’m @Bob DC, B O B D C. And in addition I did handle to get a few years in the past, the area title, BobDC.com. So, you’ll find out extra in regards to the books I’ve written and that’s additionally the place I’ve my weblog. So there are a number of, I can ship you a hyperlink to place within the present notes of a sequence of weblog posts. I did a number of years in the past, actually about writing documentation, about a few of these points we’ve lined and another issues to remember.
Nikhil Krishna 00:54:15 Superior. We will certainly add that to the present notes, and I suppose all which means is thanks. Thanks, Bob. This has been a reasonably participating dialog. I feel this it’ll be very invaluable to our listeners. Thanks for spending the time with us.
Bob Ducharme 00:54:33 Properly thanks for having me. It’s going to be enjoyable driving round in my automotive, listening to a podcast the place I’m the one speaking. I’m certain you’re used to that by now, nevertheless it’s been quite a lot of enjoyable. And I like speaking about these items.
Nikhil Krishna 00:54:43 Thanks Bob. [End of Audio]
