“Writing Docs in DocBook”

I'm working on documentation for Conversant, and I've finally settled one thing: they're being written according to the DocBook DTD for XML.

Conversant needs real documentation more than anything else, but the decision to really do this right wasn't an easy one. It's so much work! I enjoy writing, but I need to fight the urge to be too wordy.

The full release of Conversant isn't going to wait for the full documenation, but it is waiting for some kind of server and programmer documenation. I'm starting with basic introductory material, then I'll cover the basics of installing and managing a Conversant server, and then the basics of writing plugins.

I actually enjoy writing docs. It's like learning a new way to see the software, because I'm forced to explain it to people who don't really know anything about it. It can be frustrating, but it's also helping me to see areas that could be improved in the software, things that are obvious and make the most sense only if you were present at the creation.