[TYPO3-dev] RFC as tool to concept branch 5.x

[Elmar Hinz]

Hi Dan,

dan frost wrote:
> Elmar,
> 
> My view is: The TER is for distributing TYPO3
> extensions. RFCs are (i) not extensions to TYPO3
> and (ii) will become very quickly obsolete, thus
> filling up the TER with out of date junk!

1.) Is it clever to call them junk in the same moment you propose them?
RFC should be of respectable quality, else we shouldn't start it at all.

2.) Some RFC stay experimental or become obsolete. Others reach the states
"official standard" or "best practice" and become lasting documentation. In
example RFC of IPs dates to September 1981.
(http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc791.txt)

Typical states in official RFC are:

* Informational
* Experimental
* Proposed standard
* Draft standard
* Best practice
* Standard
* Historic


> 
> Here's what we need:
> 1. Wiki - for outlining what's going on, the
> process of submitting RFCs etc. It would be the
> "brain storming" notice board.

Yes, brainstorming should stand at the beginng.

> 2. Mailing list - because we need to discuss ideas
> like we are doing here

I also propose so. But "Use a news reader!"

> 3. RFCs - these would probably be PDFs (everyone
> can read them) or ZIPs (if lots of source code is
> included)

* TER automatically produces PDFs, at least it did in the past.
* An XML document should be the master document to generate other formats.
* PDF is not a source format but an end product.
* There would be no inbuild indexing and search for PDF in wiki.

> 4. Somewhere to post the RFCs - probably the wiki

TER is more systematical in maintanance than the wiki in this. But yes
there should be a list of RFC in the wiki.

I miss in your concept:

* automaic versioning
* automatic HTML display
* automatic PDF generation
* example code easy to run as extension
* sql tables and data
* posibility to ship attachments like UML bundled with the RFC
* indexing and search

Regards

Elmar