[TYPO3-dev] Documentation migration to reStructured Text and extension authors

[François Suter]

Hi Xavier,

> - How should I store my reST documentation to be rendered on TER

That will very likely follow the FLOW3 conventions.

> - Can I finally remove manual.sxw from my doc/ directory

Not until we tell you that you can ;-) Hopefully as soon as possible.

> - Should I store a PDF together for people downloading my extension?
> Could it be used as-this by typo3.org instead of regenerating it (if
> ever) and will the EM link to it?

When an extension is uploaded to the TER in the future, it should 
ideally contain only the reST version and let the new rendering chain 
generate the PDF.

What we haven't discussed yet is - indeed - how the TER could retrieve 
some rendered version (probably only PDF) and include it in the download 
package. I don't think that it should be such a problem, since the TER 
already does some packaging anyway.

> I want to start writing my documentation with reST, what can I do to
> help the documentation team to have reST being the official and working
> new documentation format with the whole chain (or nearly) by end of May?

Right now the whole rendering chain is not stable enough that we can 
bring in more people to help. However in the near future we will need 
help in the following areas:

- go through rendered documents and spot rendering errors
- integrate the new typo3.org design in the rendering templates for HTML
- develop whatever landing pages are necessary for the new documentation 
site (very likely a FLOW3 application or maybe even Phoenix)
- finalize the rendering chain, which includes having a job queue and 
managing this queue (for example, modifying the TER so that uploading an 
extension triggers the rendering of the manual)

These are a few ideas off the top of my head. We have planned a meeting 
next week between the Documentation Team and the FLOW3 Team, which will 
certainly yield answers about the as yet still obscure areas. There will 
definitely be things to do not just for documentation enthusiasts but 
also for developers who want to code a cool thing or two.

Cheers

-- 

Francois Suter
Cobweb Development Sarl - http://www.cobweb.ch