[Typo3-doc] The new extension repository (TER2)

[Robert Lemke]

Ah, what I forgot: The TER2 will be able to render these output formats
right away:

  - Online readable XHTML
  - PDF A4 / Letter
  - Downloadable XHTML as .tgz and .zip
  - DocBook 
  - Windows Help Files (.chm)


Robert Lemke wrote:

> Dear fellows,
> 
> as you may know, the foundation of the new extension repository is now in
> alpha state. Although it is a complete rewrite of most of the extensions
> on typo3.org, the visual part has not changed very much.
> 
> However, while creating the new documentation rendering extension I have
> implemented a few features which should help us a lot in the future to
> provide and maintain excellent documentation. Internally the TER2 is
> working with DocBook which is automatically generated from the Open Office
> Documents.
> 
> So what implications does that have on the documentation and for the TYPO3
> manual authors? At first, nothing will change. You will still be able to
> write a manual with Open Office Writer 1.x and include it into your
> extensions. Until January, it will be the only way to upload
> documentation.
> 
> But later on we will be able to truly take advantage of DocBook and it
> will be possible to use DocBook instead of Open Office as a source format.
> If you have questions about DocBook or ask yourself why it's so much
> better than Open Office documents, I'll gladly answer your questions and
> point you to interesting resources.
> 
> We now have the foundation on which we can build. But if it turns out to
> be succesful all depends on a highly motivated docteam with a consistent
> leadership and people with the right skills. I'm sorry that I could not be
> of too much help for Peter Kindström in the past, and I'm not sure if I
> can help a lot in the future.
> 
> But what I'll try to provide is all the information you might need from me
> and the infrastructure and accounts which a required for your projects.
> 
> As a start I suggest you try to get familar with DocBook and have a look
> at other projects who successfully use it. One of my favourite projects I
> frequently look at is KDE. Have a look at their internationalization site
> [1], there is a lot we can learn from them.
> 
> Although it's still alpha state, you should also look at the TER2 test
> installation [2] and collect some feedback.
> 
> Well, I don't want to push you too much into one directory, but just let
> you know that I want to help you getting started again, as much as I can
> afford beside my other jobs. I also appreciate any constructive criticism
> and ideas for the future.
> 
> Just let's get started, it would be so cool if we had the best
> documentation site of all free software projects!
> 
> Cheers,
> robert
> 
> [1] http://i18n.kde.org/sitedoc.html
> [2] http://ter.dev.robertlemke.de

-- 
Robert Lemke
TYPO3 Association - Research & Development
Member of the board
http://association.typo3.org