Re: postgresql 7.1

Regarding documentation updates...

Patch updates might work for a "small" quantity of documentation ("small"
in this context, meaning on order of Postgresql documentation), but I just
wanted to relate my experience on large documentation sources with these
types of patches (sort of funny in a sad way):

A few years ago, I was part of a National Guard Aviation Maintenance Unit
(charged with Hueys and Blackhawks) and would spend entire weekends doing
nothing other than hand-updating hundreds of rotary wing maintenance
manuals with patches. It was a _Really_ crappy method of updating a
documentation project of that scale.  The worst part was that all patches
had to be applied from base documentation, and each patch would often
replace the same pages (we often had 20-30 _levels_ of patches on a given
document, each of 10-100 pages).  Even if we wanted to order a new manual,
we'd often have to get an old base one and apply multiple patch levels,
which led to extreme inefficiency.

Just thought you might be interested in how this concept can quickly
unravel...:)

-Daniel


On Thu, 12 Oct 2000 Tim Uckun <tim@diligence.com> wrote:

>For prohjects such as this that have commercial documentation, why don't
>they have "patches" for printed books also?

Have the book in a three ring binder. With each version sell new "pages"
or "chapters" or both. This way the user removes chapter X and reinserts
the new updates chapter X.

Here is another idea have the book in a CVS like software. This way just
like software the documentation can be worked on by many people, some
people have write access and get to approve and proofread  before it gets
posted. Everybody can just grab the latest snapshot of the doc.

:wq
Tim Uckun
Due Diligence Inc. http://www.diligence.com/   Americas Background
Investigation Expert.
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