All formal documents are maintained in Docbook SGML and located in the - doc/source/* directory. You will need - Docbook, the Docbook - DTD's and the Docbook modular stylesheets (or comparable alternatives), - and either jade or - openjade (recommended) installed in order to - build docs from source. Currently there is user-manual, - FAQ, and, of - course this, the developer-manual in this format. - The README, AUTHORS, - INSTALL, - privoxy.1 (man page), and - config files are also now maintained as Docbook - SGML. These files, when built, in the top-level source directory are - generated files! Also, the Privoxy index.html (and a - variation on this file, privoxy-index.html, - meant for inclusion with doc packages), are maintained as SGML as well. - DO NOT edit these directly. Edit the SGML source, or - contact someone involved in the documentation. -
config requires some special handling. The reason it - is maintained this way is so that the extensive comments in the file - mirror those in user-manual. But the conversion - process requires going from SGML to HTML to text to special formatting - required for the embedded comments. Some of this does not survive so - well. Especially some of the examples that are longer than 80 characters. - The build process for this file outputs to config.new, - which should be reviewed for errors and mis-formatting. Once satisfied - that it is correct, then it should be hand copied to - config. -
Other, less formal documents (e.g. LICENSE) are - maintained as plain text files in the top-level source directory. -
Packagers are encouraged to include this documentation. For those without - the ability to build the docs locally, text versions of each are kept in - CVS. HTML versions are also being kept in CVS under - doc/webserver/*. And PDF version are kept in - doc/pdf/*. -
Formal documents are built with the Makefile targets of - make dok, or alternately - make redhat-dok. If you have problems, - try both. The build process uses the document SGML sources in - doc/source/*/* to update all text files in - doc/text/ and to update all HTML - documents in doc/webserver/. -
Documentation writers should please make sure documents build - successfully before committing to CVS, if possible. -
How do you update the webserver (i.e. the pages on privoxy.org)? - -
First, build the docs by running make - dok (or alternately make - redhat-dok). For PDF docs, do make - dok-pdf. -
Run make webserver which copies all - files from doc/webserver to the - sourceforge webserver via scp. -
Finished docs should be occasionally submitted to CVS - (doc/webserver/*/*.html) so that those without - the ability to build them locally, have access to them if needed. - This is especially important just prior to a new release! Please - do this after the $VERSION and - other release specific data in configure.in has been - updated (this is done just prior to a new release). -
If you are not familiar with SGML, it is a markup language similar to HTML. - Actually, not a mark up language per se, but a language used to define - markup languages. In fact, HTML is an SGML application. Both will use - "tags" to format text and other content. SGML tags can be much - more varied, and flexible, but do much of the same kinds of things. The tags, - or "elements", are definable in SGML. There is no set - "standards". Since we are using - Docbook, our tags are those that are defined by - Docbook. Much of how the finish document is - rendered is determined by the "stylesheets". - The stylesheets determine how each tag gets translated to HTML, or other - formats.
Tags in Docbook SGML need to be always "closed". If not, you - will likely generate errors. Example: <title>My - Title</title>. They are also case-insensitive, but we - strongly suggest using all lower case. This keeps compatibility with - [Docbook] XML.
Our documents use "sections" for the most part. Sections - will be processed into HTML headers (e.g. h1 for - sect1). The Docbook stylesheets - will use these to also generate the Table of Contents for each doc. Our - TOC's are set to a depth of three. Meaning sect1, - sect2, and sect3 will have TOC - entries, but sect4 will not. Each section requires - a <title> element, and at least one - <para>. There is a limit of five section - levels in Docbook, but generally three should be sufficient for our - purposes.
Some common elements that you likely will use:
| <para></para>, paragraph delimiter. Most - text needs to be within paragraph elements (there are some exceptions). - |
| <emphasis></emphasis>, the stylesheets - make this italics. - |
| <filename></filename>, files and directories. - |
| <command></command>, command examples. - |
| <literallayout></literallayout>, like - <pre>, more or less. - |
| <itemizedlist></itemizedlist>, list with bullets. - |
| <listitem></listitem>, member of the above. - |
| <screen></screen>, screen output, implies - <literallayout>. - |
| <ulink url="example.com"></ulink>, like - HTML <a> tag. - |
| <quote></quote>, for, doh, quoting text. - |
Look at any of the existing docs for examples of all these and more.
You might also find "Writing Documentation - Using DocBook - A Crash Course" useful.
It will be easier if everyone follows a similar writing style. This - just makes it easier to read what someone else has written if it - is all done in a similar fashion. -
Here it is: -
All tags should be lower case. -
Tags delimiting a block of text (even small - blocks) should be on their own line. Like: -
<para>
- Some text goes here.
- </para>
-
Just to <emphasis>emphasize</emphasis>, some text goes here.
-
Tags should be nested and step indented for block text like: (except - in-line tags) -
<para>
- <itemizedlist>
- <para>
- <listitem>
- Some text goes here in our list example.
- </listitem>
- </para>
- </itemizedlist>
- </para>
-
Use white space to separate logical divisions within a document, - like between sections. Running everything together consistently - makes it harder to read and work on. -
Do not hesitate to make comments. Comments can either use the - <comment> element, or the <!-- --> style comment - familiar from HTML. (Note in Docbook v4.x <comment> is - replaced by <remark>.) -
We have an international audience. Refrain from slang, or English - idiosyncrasies (too many to list :). Humor also does not translate - well sometimes. -
Try to keep overall line lengths in source files to 80 characters or less - for obvious reasons. This is not always possible, with lengthy URLs for - instance. -
Our documents are available in differing formats. Right now, they - are just plain text, HTML, and PDF, but others are always a - future possibility. Be careful with URLs (<ulink>), and avoid - this mistake: -
My favorite site is <ulink url="http://example.com">here</ulink>. -
This will render as "My favorite site is here", which is - not real helpful in a text doc. Better like this: -
My favorite site is <ulink url="http://example.com">example.com</ulink>. -
All documents should be spell checked occasionally. - aspell can check SGML with the - -H option. (ispell I think - too.) -
Privoxy documentation is using - a number of customized "entities" to facilitate - documentation maintenance. -
We are using a set of "boilerplate" files with generic text, - that is used by multiple docs. This way we can write something once, and use - it repeatedly without having to re-write the same content over and over again. - If editing such a file, keep in mind that it should be - generic. That is the purpose; so it can be used in varying - contexts without additional modifications. -
We are also using what Docbook calls - "internal entities". These are like variables in - programming. Well, sort of. For instance, we have the - p-version entity that contains the current - Privoxy version string. You are strongly - encouraged to use these where possible. Some of these obviously - require re-setting with each release (done by the Makefile). A sampling of - custom entities are listed below. See any of the main docs for examples. -
Re- "boilerplate" text entities are defined like: -
<!entity supported SYSTEM "supported.sgml"> -
In this example, the contents of the file, - supported.sgml is available for inclusion anywhere - in the doc. To make this happen, just reference the now defined - entity: &supported; (starts with an ampersand - and ends with a semi-colon), and the contents will be dumped into - the finished doc at that point. -
Commonly used "internal entities": -
| p-version: the Privoxy - version string, e.g. "3.0.16". - |
| p-status: the project status, either - "alpha", "beta", or "stable". - |
| p-not-stable: use to conditionally include - text in "not stable" releases (e.g. "beta"). - |
| p-stable: just the opposite. - |
| p-text: this doc is only generated as text. - |
There are others in various places that are defined for a specific - purpose. Read the source! -
All formal documents are maintained in Docbook SGML and located in the doc/source/* directory. You will need Docbook, the Docbook DTD's and the Docbook modular stylesheets (or comparable alternatives), and either + jade or openjade (recommended) installed in order + to build docs from source. Currently there is user-manual, FAQ, and, + of course this, the developer-manual in this format. The README, + AUTHORS, INSTALL, privoxy.1 (man page), + and config files are also now maintained as Docbook SGML. These files, when built, in the + top-level source directory are generated files! Also, the Privoxy index.html (and a variation on this file, privoxy-index.html, meant for + inclusion with doc packages), are maintained as SGML as well. DO NOT + edit these directly. Edit the SGML source, or contact someone involved in the documentation.
+config requires some special handling. The reason it is maintained this way is so that + the extensive comments in the file mirror those in user-manual. But the conversion process + requires going from SGML to HTML to text to special formatting required for the embedded comments. Some of this + does not survive so well. Especially some of the examples that are longer than 80 characters. The build process for + this file outputs to config.new, which should be reviewed for errors and mis-formatting. + Once satisfied that it is correct, then it should be hand copied to config.
+Other, less formal documents (e.g. LICENSE) are maintained as plain text files in the + top-level source directory.
+Packagers are encouraged to include this documentation. For those without the ability to build the docs locally, + text versions of each are kept in Git. HTML versions are also being kept in Git under doc/webserver/*.
+Formal documents are built with the Makefile targets of make dok. The build + process uses the document SGML sources in doc/source/*/* to update all text + files in doc/text/ and to update all HTML documents in doc/webserver/.
+Documentation writers should please make sure documents build successfully before committing to Git, if + possible.
+How do you update the webserver (i.e. the pages on privoxy.org)?
+First, build the docs by running make dok.
+Run make webserver which copies all files from doc/webserver to the sourceforge webserver via scp.
+Finished docs should be occasionally submitted to Git (doc/webserver/*/*.html) so that + those without the ability to build them locally, have access to them if needed. This is especially important just + prior to a new release! Please do this after the $VERSION and other release specific data in configure.in has been updated + (this is done just prior to a new release).
+If you are not familiar with SGML, it is a markup language similar to HTML. Actually, not a mark up language + per se, but a language used to define markup languages. In fact, HTML is an SGML application. Both will use + "tags" to format text and other content. SGML tags can be much more varied, and + flexible, but do much of the same kinds of things. The tags, or "elements", are + definable in SGML. There is no set "standards". Since we are using Docbook, our tags are those that are defined by Docbook. + Much of how the finish document is rendered is determined by the "stylesheets". The + stylesheets determine how each tag gets translated to HTML, or other formats.
+Tags in Docbook SGML need to be always "closed". If not, you will likely generate + errors. Example: <title>My Title</title>. They are also case-insensitive, + but we strongly suggest using all lower case. This keeps compatibility with [Docbook] XML.
+Our documents use "sections" for the most part. Sections will be processed into + HTML headers (e.g. h1 for sect1). The Docbook stylesheets will use these to also generate the Table of Contents for each doc. Our + TOC's are set to a depth of three. Meaning sect1, sect2, and + sect3 will have TOC entries, but sect4 will not. Each section + requires a <title> element, and at least one <para>. There is a limit of five section levels in Docbook, but generally three should be + sufficient for our purposes.
+Some common elements that you likely will use:
+| <para></para>, paragraph delimiter. + Most text needs to be within paragraph elements (there are some exceptions). | +
| <emphasis></emphasis>, the + stylesheets make this italics. | +
| <filename></filename>, files and + directories. | +
| <command></command>, command + examples. | +
| <literallayout></literallayout>, like + <pre>, more or less. | +
| <itemizedlist></itemizedlist>, list + with bullets. | +
| <listitem></listitem>, member of the + above. | +
| <screen></screen>, screen output, + implies <literallayout>. | +
| <ulink url="example.com"></ulink>, + like HTML <a> tag. | +
| <quote></quote>, for, doh, quoting + text. | +
Look at any of the existing docs for examples of all these and more.
+You might also find " Writing Documentation Using DocBook - A Crash Course" useful.
+It will be easier if everyone follows a similar writing style. This just makes it easier to read what someone + else has written if it is all done in a similar fashion.
+Here it is:
+All tags should be lower case.
+Tags delimiting a block of text (even small blocks) + should be on their own line. Like:
+ <para>
+ Some text goes here.
+ </para>
Tags marking individual words, or few words, should be in-line:
++ Just to <emphasis>emphasize</emphasis>, some text goes here.
+Tags should be nested and step indented for block text like: (except in-line tags)
+ <para>
+ <itemizedlist>
+ <para>
+ <listitem>
+ Some text goes here in our list example.
+
+ </listitem>
+ </para>
+ </itemizedlist>
+ </para>
This makes it easier to find the text amongst the tags ;-)
+Use white space to separate logical divisions within a document, like between sections. Running everything + together consistently makes it harder to read and work on.
+Do not hesitate to make comments. Comments can either use the <comment> element, or the <!-- + --> style comment familiar from HTML. (Note in Docbook v4.x <comment> is replaced by + <remark>.)
+We have an international audience. Refrain from slang, or English idiosyncrasies (too many to list :). + Humor also does not translate well sometimes.
+Try to keep overall line lengths in source files to 80 characters or less for obvious reasons. This is not + always possible, with lengthy URLs for instance.
+Our documents are available in differing formats. Right now, they are just plain text and/or HTML, but + others are always a future possibility. Be careful with URLs (<ulink>), and avoid this mistake:
+My favorite site is <ulink url="http://example.com">here</ulink>.
+This will render as "My favorite site is here", which is not real helpful in a + text doc. Better like this:
+My favorite site is <ulink url="http://example.com">example.com</ulink>.
+All documents should be spell checked occasionally. aspell can check SGML + with the -H option. (ispell I think too.)
+Privoxy documentation is using a number of customized "entities" to facilitate documentation maintenance.
+We are using a set of "boilerplate" files with generic text, that is used by + multiple docs. This way we can write something once, and use it repeatedly without having to re-write the same + content over and over again. If editing such a file, keep in mind that it should be generic. That is the purpose; so it can be used in varying contexts + without additional modifications.
+We are also using what Docbook calls "internal + entities". These are like variables in programming. Well, sort of. For instance, we have the p-version entity that contains the current Privoxy version + string. You are strongly encouraged to use these where possible. Some of these obviously require re-setting with + each release (done by the Makefile). A sampling of custom entities are listed below. See any of the main docs for + examples.
+Re- "boilerplate" text entities are defined like:
+<!entity supported SYSTEM "supported.sgml">
+In this example, the contents of the file, supported.sgml is available for + inclusion anywhere in the doc. To make this happen, just reference the now defined entity: &supported; (starts with an ampersand and ends with a semi-colon), and the contents will + be dumped into the finished doc at that point.
+Commonly used "internal entities":
+| p-version: the Privoxy version string, e.g. "3.0.29". | +
| p-status: the project status, either + "alpha", "beta", or "stable". | +
| p-not-stable: use to conditionally include + text in "not stable" releases (e.g. "beta"). | +
| p-stable: just the opposite. | +
| p-text: this doc is only generated as + text. | +
There are others in various places that are defined for a specific purpose. Read the source!
+