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diff --git a/docs/guides/onap-developer/how-to-use-docs/introduction.rst b/docs/guides/onap-developer/how-to-use-docs/introduction.rst new file mode 100644 index 000000000..70e98ad93 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/guides/onap-developer/how-to-use-docs/introduction.rst @@ -0,0 +1,142 @@ +.. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 +.. International License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 +.. Copyright 2017 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. + +Introduction +============ +This guide describes how to create documentation for the Open Network +Automation Platform (ONAP). ONAP projects create a variety of +content depending on the nature of the project. For example projects +delivering a platform component may have different types of content than +a project that creates libraries for a software development kit. +The content from each project may be used together as a reference for +that project and/or be used in documents that are tailored to a specific +user audience and tasks they are performing. + +Much of the content in this document is derived from similar +documentation processes used in other Linux Foundation +Projects including OPNFV and Open Daylight. + +Why reStructuredText/Sphinx? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +In the past, standard documentation methods included ad-hoc Word documents, +PDFs, poorly organized Wikis, and other, often closed, tools like +Adobe FrameMaker. The rise of DevOps, Agile, and Continuous Integration, +however, created a paradigm shift for those who care about documentation +because: + +1. Documentation must be tightly coupled with code/product releases. + In many cases, particularly with open-source products, many different + versions of the same code can be installed in various production + environments. DevOps personnel must have access to the correct version + of documentation. + +2. Resources are often tight, volunteers scarce. With a large software base + like ONAP, a small team of technical writers, even if they are also + developers, cannot keep up with a constantly changing, large code base. + Therefore, those closest to the code should document it as best they can, + and let professional writers edit for style, grammar, and consistency. + +Plain-text formatting syntaxes, such as reStructuredText, Markdown, +and Textile, are a good choice for documentation because: + +a. They are editor agnostic + +b. The source is nearly as easy to read as the rendered text + +c. Documentation can be treated exactly as source code is (e.g. versioned, + diff'ed, associated with commit messages that can be included + in rendered docs) + +d. Shallow learning curve + +The documentation team chose reStructuredText largely because of Sphinx, +a Python-based documentation build system, which uses reStructuredText +natively. In a code base as large as ONAP's, cross-referencing between +component documentation was deemed critical. Sphinx and reStructuredText +have built-in functionality that makes collating and cross-referencing +component documentation easier. + +Which docs should go where? +~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +Frequently, developers ask where documentation should be created. Should +they always use reStructuredText/Sphinx? Not necessarily. Is the wiki +appropriate for anything at all? Yes. + +It's really up to the development team. Here is a simple rule: + +The more tightly coupled the documentation is to a particular version +of the code, the more likely it is that it should be stored with the +code in reStructuredText. + +The doc team encourages component teams to store as much documentation +as reStructuredText as possible because: + +1. It is easier to edit component documentation for grammar, + spelling, clarity, and consistency. + +2. A consistent formatting syntax across components will allow + flexibility in producing different kinds of output. + +3. It is easier to re-organize the documentation. + +4. Wiki articles tend to grow in size and not maintained making it hard + to find current information. + +Structure +--------- +A top level master document structure is used to organize all +documents created by ONAP projects and this resides in the gerrit doc +repository. Complete documents or guides may reside here and +reference parts of source for documentation from other project +repositories. Other ONAP projects will provide content that +is referenced from this structure. + +:: + + docs + ├── guides + │ ├── onap-developer + │ │ ├── apiref + │ │ ├── architecture + │ │ ├── developing + │ │ ├── how-to-use-docs + │ │ ├── settingup + │ │ ├── tutorials + │ │ └── use-cases + │ ├── onap-provider + │ └── onap-user + ├── release + └── templates + ├── collections + └── sections + +Source Files +------------ +All documentation for project repositories should be structured and stored +in or below `<your_project_repo>/docs/` directory as Restructured Text. +ONAP jenkins jobs that verify and merge documentation are triggered by +RST file changes in the top level docs directory and below. + +Licensing +--------- +All contributions to the ONAP project are done in accordance with the +ONAP licensing requirements. Documentation in ONAP is contributed +in accordance with the `Creative Commons 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/>`_ license. +All documentation files need to be licensed using the text below. +The license may be applied in the first lines of all contributed RST +files: + +.. code-block:: bash + + .. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. + .. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 + .. Copyright YEAR ONAP or COMPANY or INDIVIDUAL + + These lines will not be rendered in the html and pdf files. + +When there are subsequent, significant contributions to a source file +from a different contributor, a new copyright line may be appended +after the last existing copyright line. |