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PropellerIDE - Call For Documentation — Parallax Forums

PropellerIDE - Call For Documentation

Brett WeirBrett Weir Posts: 288
edited 2015-01-29 13:13 in Propeller 1
Ever since I discovered the Propeller microcontroller years ago, I was delighted by how easy it was to use and how easy the hardware was to understand.

One thing that was always a problem for me was finding the right documentation for the Spin language when I needed it. I had to search high and low on the forums, on wikispaces, on google, wherever I could find what I was looking for.

Sometimes, I couldn't find the answers at all, and I'd like to change that.

One of my plans for the new PropellerIDE is to bootstrap it with the best collection of Spin documentation available.

To do this, I need your help finding awesome documents, their owners, and permission to include them in PropellerIDE. If possible, obtaining the source material (Word doc, HTML, etc.) and Creative Commons licensing is even better, because then I can repackage them as compiled HTML and include them with the new web help I'm planning to integrate.

Having these resources will allow the construction of an epic repository of documentation bundled with every installation of PropellerIDE, and will help ensure that newcomers to the spin language will know exactly where to go to get help first!

So share the wealth! Please post any awesomely useful information about Spin and the Propeller and help me track the best of what's available. If you want it to be included in PropellerIDE, now's the time to speak up!

Comments

  • kwinnkwinn Posts: 8,697
    edited 2015-01-26 07:06
    I think using HTML for the documentation is a fantastic idea. I looked after one instrument that came with an HTML service manual. It was so well organized and easy to use that I wish every manual or text book was written like that. I could click on a highlighted term, diagram number, chapter name, or item in the index to go to it, and when I was finished a click on the back arrow returned me to the page I was on. Truly documentation nirvanna, and IIRC one of the original purposes of HTML.
  • rosco_pcrosco_pc Posts: 464
    edited 2015-01-27 02:36
    Why not start with the Propeller tool documentation? It is HTML and already covers alot of information (you obviously need to replace the propellertool specific parts).

    Might be good to add a PASM tutorial: Graham Stabler (a bit short), Potatohead (for absolute beginners) and deSilva's (more adcanced) PASM tutorials are all good candidates.

    And at least a link to the stickies in this forum.
  • Brett WeirBrett Weir Posts: 288
    edited 2015-01-29 13:10
    kwinn wrote: »
    I think using HTML for the documentation is a fantastic idea. I looked after one instrument that came with an HTML service manual. It was so well organized and easy to use that I wish every manual or text book was written like that. I could click on a highlighted term, diagram number, chapter name, or item in the index to go to it, and when I was finished a click on the back arrow returned me to the page I was on. Truly documentation nirvanna, and IIRC one of the original purposes of HTML.

    Absolutely. I'd love to have as much cross-referencing as possible. Though, in order to do that, I need source materials! I use Confluence for writing documentation because it allows for unbreakable page links. You can reference any page on the wiki, and no matter how much you move it, the references will always be up-to-date.

    Then, I have a custom exporter that I've been writing to render HTML and PDF outputs, so we'll be able to customize the outputs however we like.
  • Brett WeirBrett Weir Posts: 288
    edited 2015-01-29 13:13
    rosco_pc wrote: »
    Why not start with the Propeller tool documentation? It is HTML and already covers alot of information (you obviously need to replace the propellertool specific parts).

    Might be good to add a PASM tutorial: Graham Stabler (a bit short), Potatohead (for absolute beginners) and deSilva's (more adcanced) PASM tutorials are all good candidates.

    And at least a link to the stickies in this forum.

    Actually, those three sources were what I had in mind when I first made this post, but all I know of are the PDFs. Can anyone help me get in touch with the creators and see if they'd be willing to share the source material?

    I think I did an import of the the Propeller Tool documentation at some point; I'll have to look and see what happened to it.

    I also think it would be nice if PropellerIDE included all of the application notes with corresponding source code. Those were invaluable when I first started development.

    For sources that I don't have the source to, I'll have to find a seamless way to open PDFs, but it won't be ideal.
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