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LDP Weekly News
2001-05-15

by David Merrill
 

About the LDP

The Linux Documentation Project is developing free, high quality documentation for the GNU/Linux operating system. This includes the creation of HOWTOs and Guides, and collaboration with other documentation groups.

If you've always wanted to help Linux reach Total World Domination(tm), but you're not a programmer, there's still something you can do. Help the LDP!

The LDP keeps a page of resources for authors at http://www.linuxdoc.org/authors/. Contributions are always welcome.

For more LDP Weekly News, go to http://www.linuxdoc.org/ldpwn/

Document Database

To keep track of the work that is being done on all of the LDP documents, I've created a PostgreSQL database with a perl front end. LDP authors, editors, and other volunteers are invited to register on my personal home page and help maintain the data.

The database is in an alpha state and under continuous development. The latest addition is the hierarchy of topics used to generate our topical list of documents. Help in adding this meta-data would be appreciated!

I'll keep you posted on the progress of this project.

LDP Statistics

I've written a small perl script that pulls from the database and generates some statistics on the LDP documents.

DocBook Conversion Update

Converting our documents into DocBook is a pretty high priority right now. With ScollKeeper nearing release, it is becoming even more urgent.

The statistics indicate that only 41% of our documents are currently in DocBook, which means we need more help to get this job done. If you know DocBook, or are willing to learn it, write to me and I'll help you get started.

Review Task Force Update

The LDP Review Task Force now has 11 commited volunteers. There is a bit more work to be done to provide database support for them, but it should be complete this week and reviews should begin soon after that. Please write to the list if you want to help. We need somewhere around 20 folks to be properly staffed for this important work. Our immediate need is for editors and proofreaders. If you are a good technical writer, we want you!

It seems like I'm always asking for more volunteers to help the LDP. That's because we are chronically shorthanded. Creating more user documentation, and improving the existing documentation, is arguably the most important challenge to gaining ground as a desktop OS, and in corporate shops.

Documenting is not as high-profile or as "sexy" as kernel hacking or programming, but it is just as important, if not more so.

New Documents

No new documents were posted this week.

Updated Documents