man pages and handbooks

[Paul Wilson]

On 13/09/06, Joel Dahl <joel at freebsd.org> wrote:
>
> I'm sure we can come up with a solution if you (Paul and Duane) really
> are interested in doing this work.  Perforce could be a good solution,
> especially since our kernel developers actively read p4 diffs and could
> comment on your progress.  Also, submitting your work back to FreeBSD
> and syncing with the doc repository should be easy if you use p4.  The
> problem with our perforce repository is that it's quite hidden...


I am certainly interested, perforce would be ideal.

The Architecture handbook, the Developers handbook, manual pages and the
> general lack of documentation have been the target for many complaints
> during the years.  It is quite hard to get familiar with our kernel
> infrastructure, and it's not always obvious who to ask when new
> questions arise.  The general rule though is that the arch@ and hackers@
> mailing lists should be your first stop when you need to get in touch
> with someone that has the right kernel knowledge.


As someone trying to acquaint himself with the kernel infrastructure, I can
attest to this.
This is certainly something I would like to be involved in because I feel
that the project would be far more attractive if its documentation was well
maintained.
Besides I think it would be a great way to learn more.

The project will loose future developers if the lack of documentation is
> a too big obstacle, and this will surely hurt the project in the end,
> but I'm sure we can arrange something or develop a solution if you
> really are interested in fixing this major PITA.
>

Absolutely. Speaking for myself, I am interested in working on this. I have
an amount of spare time available for the next year that would be well spent
on a project like this.

Paul