<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> | |
<html> | |
<head> | |
<meta http-equiv="Content-Language" content="en-us"> | |
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"> | |
<link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="../../boost.css"> | |
<title>Writing Documentation for Boost - HTML Design</title> | |
</head> | |
<body link="#0000FF" vlink="#800080"> | |
<table border="0" cellpadding="7" cellspacing="0" width="100%" summary= | |
"header"> | |
<tr> | |
<td valign="top" width="300"> | |
<h3><a href="index.html"><img height="86" width="277" alt="C++ Boost" | |
src="../../boost.png" border="0"></a></h3> | |
</td> | |
<td valign="top"> | |
<h1 align="center">Writing Documentation for Boost</h1> | |
<h2 align="center">HTML Design</h2> | |
</td> | |
</tr> | |
</table> | |
<hr> | |
<dl class="page-index"> | |
<dt><a href="#introduction">Introduction</a></dt> | |
<dt><a href="#common-pages">Common Pages Included in HTML | |
Documentation</a></dt> | |
<dd> | |
<dl class="page-index"> | |
<dt><a href="#index-page">Index</a></dt> | |
<dt><a href="#overview-page">Overview</a></dt> | |
<dt><a href="#definitions-page">Definitions</a></dt> | |
<dt><a href="#rationale-page">Rationale</a></dt> | |
<dt><a href="#configuration-page">Configuration Information</a></dt> | |
<dt><a href="#faq-page">Frequently Asked Questions</a></dt> | |
<dt><a href="#bibliography-page">Bibliography</a></dt> | |
<dt><a href="#acknowledgements-page">Acknowledgment</a></dt> | |
<dt><a href="#header-page">Header Reference</a></dt> | |
</dl> | |
</dd> | |
<dt><a href="#layout">Layout</a></dt> | |
<dd> | |
<dl class="page-index"> | |
<dt><a href="#page-banner">Page Banner</a></dt> | |
<dt><a href="#page-index">Page Index</a></dt> | |
<dt><a href="#content">Documentation Content</a></dt> | |
<dd> | |
<dl class="page-index"> | |
<dt><a href="#doc-footnotes">Footnotes</a></dt> | |
</dl> | |
</dd> | |
<dt><a href="#revision-info">Revision Information</a></dt> | |
<dt><a href="#copyright">Copyright Information</a></dt> | |
</dl> | |
</dd> | |
<dt><a href="#format">Format</a></dt> | |
<dd> | |
<dl class="page-index"> | |
<dt><a href="#style-sheets">Cascading Style Sheets</a></dt> | |
<dd> | |
<dl class="page-index"> | |
<dt><a href="#boost-style-sheet">Boost Style Sheet</a></dt> | |
</dl> | |
</dd> | |
</dl> | |
</dd> | |
<dt><a href="#templates">Templates</a></dt> | |
<dd> | |
<dl class="page-index"> | |
<dt><a href="#index-template">Index Page Template</a></dt> | |
<dt><a href="#overview-template">Overview Page Template</a></dt> | |
<dt><a href="#definitions-template">Definitions Page | |
Template</a></dt> | |
<dt><a href="#rationale-template">Rationale Page Template</a></dt> | |
<dt><a href="#configuration-template">Configuration Page | |
Template</a></dt> | |
<dt><a href="#faq-template">FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Page | |
Template</a></dt> | |
<dt><a href="#bibliography-template">Bibliography Page | |
Template</a></dt> | |
<dt><a href="#acknowledgements-template">Acknowledgments Page | |
Template</a></dt> | |
<dt><a href="#header-template">Header Page Template</a></dt> | |
</dl> | |
</dd> | |
</dl> | |
<h2><a name="introduction" id="introduction"></a>Introduction</h2> | |
<p>Boost places no requirements on the design of HTML documentation for | |
library submitters. If you are submitting a library for which documentation | |
already exists in either HTML or in a form easily converted to HTML then | |
there is no need for you to read this document. However, if you have not | |
yet written the documentation, or if you expect to have to translate | |
documentation written in a format not easily convertible to HTML then this | |
document can give you a lot of information on how to go about writing | |
documentation in HTML.</p> | |
<p>In several places this document assumes you're writing the documentation | |
to conform to the structure described in the <a href= | |
"structure.html">Documentation Structure</a> document. There is no | |
requirement that your documentation content follow these guidelines, but | |
they provide an effective way to communicate technical specifications for a | |
library in a terse yet precise manner that's familiar to many Boost | |
users.</p> | |
<p>This document also contains links to <a href="#templates">HTML template | |
files</a> that can be used to rapidly develop documentation for a library | |
submission. These templates follow the guidelines presented here and in the | |
<a href="structure.html">Documentation Structure</a> document.</p> | |
<h2><a name="common-pages" id="common-pages"></a>Common Pages Included in | |
HTML Documentation</h2> | |
<p>Most HTML documentation projects will contain some common pages. General | |
guidelines for these common pages are provided below.</p> | |
<h3><a name="index-page" id="index-page"></a>Index</h3> | |
<p>The index page is the first page presented to a user when he browses the | |
documentation. Generally this page should not contain any actual content, | |
but instead contains a list of links to specific content. At a minimum this | |
list should contain a link to every HTML page contained in the | |
documentation. Optionally, sub-lists may be provided for individual pages | |
linking to specific subjects within the page. These sub-lists should form a | |
"tree" hierarchy based on the level of heading tag used for the specific | |
subject. Inclusion of such sub-lists for every page can make the index | |
rather lengthy, and since each page should include its own <a href= | |
"#page-index">Page Index</a>, it may make the navigation of the | |
documentation easier if such sub-lists are avoided. However, there is one | |
exception to this guideline: reference documentation should contain a link | |
to every header file in the library and a sub-list with a link to every | |
macro, value, type, class, function and object (see <a href= | |
"structure.html">Documentation Structure</a>) found in the header. Users | |
aren't always sure what header file any of these may be contained in, so | |
this structure in the index allows for easy navigation of the reference | |
documentation.</p> | |
<p>The index list should generally be constructed using an HTML "definition | |
list" (<dl> and <dt> tags). A definition list has no bullets or | |
ordered specifications and produces a cleaner layout then an unordered list | |
(<ul> and <li> tags) or an ordered list (<ol> and | |
<li> tags). If you choose to use the common <a href= | |
"#boost-style-sheet">Boost Style Sheet</a> you should add a | |
<code>class="index"</code> attribute/value pair to the <dl> tag.</p> | |
<p>An Index page <a href="#index-template">template</a> is provided for | |
use.</p> | |
<h3><a name="overview-page" id="overview-page"></a>Overview</h3> | |
<p>The Overview page is used to introduce the reader to the library. It | |
should give a high-level overview of the purpose of the library and | |
introduce the reader to any concepts they may be unfamiliar with. This may | |
also be an appropriate place for some "light" rationale, though more | |
thorough presentation of any rationale would be better placed in the | |
<a href="#rationale-page">Rational Page</a>.</p> | |
<p>Like most content pages, the Overview page should include a <a href= | |
"#page-index">Page Index</a>.</p> | |
<p>An Overview page <a href="#overview-template">template</a> is provided | |
for use.</p> | |
<h3><a name="definitions-page" id="definitions-page"></a>Definitions</h3> | |
<p>The Definitions page is used to provide a list of definitions for terms | |
that a user may be unfamiliar with.</p> | |
<p>The definition list should generally be constructed using an HTML | |
"definition list" (<dl> and <DT> tags). A definition list has | |
no bullets or ordered specifications and produces a cleaner layout then an | |
unordered list (<UL> and <li> tags) or an ordered list | |
(<ol> and <li> tags). If you choose to use the common <a href= | |
"#boost-style-sheet">Boost Style Sheet</a> you should add a | |
<code>class="definition"</code> attribute/value pair to the <dl> | |
tag.</p> | |
<p>Because this page's content should only contain a list of definitions, | |
it should not have a <a href="#page-index">Page Index</a>.</p> | |
<p>A Definitions page <a href="#definitions-template">template</a> is | |
provided for use.</p> | |
<h3><a name="rationale-page" id="rationale-page"></a>Rationale</h3> | |
<p>The Rationale page is used to provide lengthy descriptions of the | |
rationale behind the library's design. This information helps users to | |
understand why a library was designed the way it was and may reduce the | |
frequency of a number of frequently asked questions. For a better | |
description of why rationale is important see the <a href= | |
"http://www.boost.org/more/lib_guide.htm#Rationale">Rationale rationale</a> | |
in the general submission guidelines.</p> | |
<p>Like most content pages, the Rationale page should include a <a href= | |
"#page-index">Page Index</a>.</p> | |
<p>A Rationale page <a href="#rationale-template">template</a> is provided | |
for use.</p> | |
<h3><a name="configuration-page" id="configuration-page"></a>Configuration | |
Information</h3> | |
<p>The Configuration Information page is used to document configuration | |
macros used by the library. Such macros belong in one of three groups: | |
macros used by library implenters defined in | |
<code><boost/config.hpp></code>, macros used by library users to | |
detect platform configuration information and macros defined by library | |
users to configure library behavior.</p> | |
<p>Like most content pages, the Overview page should include a <a href= | |
"#page-index">Page Index</a>.</p> | |
<p>A Configuration page <a href="#configuration-template">template</a> is | |
provided for use.</p> | |
<h3><a name="faq-page" id="faq-page"></a>Frequently Asked Questions</h3> | |
<p>As a library matures the users will have questions about the usage of | |
the library. Often users will ask the same questions over and over again. | |
Rather than having to deal with answering the question every time it's | |
asked, a Frequently Asked Questions (commonly known as FAQs) page can be | |
used to document the questions and answers. This is such a valuable piece | |
of documentation not only for the users but for the maintainers as well, | |
that a FAQ page should be provided from the outset. If there are no | |
questions that will obviously become a FAQ, the initial page may just | |
indicate that there are no FAQs yet. This empty place holder helps to | |
indicate to the users that you plan to address any FAQs as they occur.</p> | |
<p>The <a href="#page-index">Page Index</a> for the FAQ page should contain | |
a list of all the questions contained in the document. The actual question | |
entries should be formatted with the question in a heading tag and the | |
answers in standard paragraph format. This provides a clean presentation | |
that's easy to read.</p> | |
<p>A Frequently Asked Questions page <a href="#faq-template">template</a> | |
is provided for use.</p> | |
<h3><a name="bibliography-page" id= | |
"bibliography-page"></a>Bibliography</h3> | |
<p>The Bibliography page is used to document any bibliographical | |
information associated with references made within the documentation to | |
external resources. Parenthetical references are used within the | |
documentation which link to entries in the Bibliography page. | |
Bibliographical entries provide detailed information about the external | |
resource and may contain hyper links to the resource if it's available | |
online. There are several formal styles used for writing bibliographies. | |
You may use what ever style you want, but one of the better styles to | |
consider using can be referenced <a href= | |
"http://www.columbia.edu/cu/cup/cgos/idx_basic.html">here</a>.</p> | |
<p>Since the Bibliography page should contain only bibliographical | |
information there is no need for a <a href="#page-index">Page | |
Index</a>.</p> | |
<p>A Bibliography page <a href="#bibliography-template">template</a> is | |
provided for use.</p> | |
<h3><a name="acknowledgements-page" id= | |
"acknowledgements-page"></a>Acknowledgment</h3> | |
<p>The Acknowledgment page is used to give credit where credit is due. When | |
individuals provide input on the design or implementation, or when you make | |
use of someone else's work, you should acknowledge them. This is a courtesy | |
that you'd expect others to extend to you, so you should strive to | |
acknowledge the efforts of everyone else in your own documentation.</p> | |
<p>Since the Acknowledgment page should contain only a list of | |
acknowledgment there is no need for a <a href="#page-index">Page | |
Index</a>.</p> | |
<p>An Acknowledgments page <a href= | |
"#acknowledgements-template">template</a> is provided for use.</p> | |
<h3><a name="header-page" id="header-page"></a>Header Reference</h3> | |
<p>The Header Reference pages are the most important pages in your | |
documentation. They document all library headers, including all the macros, | |
values, types, classes, functions and objects defined in them. In general | |
it may prove useful to follow the guidelines in <a href= | |
"structure.html">Documentation Structure</a> when writing the content for | |
these pages.</p> | |
<p>Like most content pages, the Header Reference pages should include a | |
<a href="#page-index">Page Index</a>.</p> | |
<p>A Header Reference page <a href="#header-template">template</a> is | |
provided for use.</p> | |
<h2><a name="layout" id="layout"></a>Layout</h2> | |
<p>There are certain page layout concepts that will be used frequently in | |
many of your pages. This section outlines some general guidelines that you | |
can follow when designing each of these layout concepts for your | |
documentation.</p> | |
<h3><a name="page-banner" id="page-banner"></a>Page Banner</h3> | |
<p>The Page Banner is located at the very top of a page and provides quick | |
information about the page contents. This includes the Boost logo, which | |
indicates to the reader that this page is part of the Boost web site, a | |
title for the documentation (generally the library name) and the page | |
title. The Boost logo should hyper link to the Boost home page on the index | |
page and to the index page on all other pages. This allows the user to | |
easily navigate through the Boost web site and through the documentation. | |
The <title> tag for the HTML page should consist of the documentation | |
title and the page title separated by a hyphen.</p> | |
<p>The Page Banner should be separated from the rest of the page by the use | |
of an <hr> tag. This helps to clearly separate the actual content | |
from the title information and produces cleaner text.</p> | |
<h3><a name="page-index" id="page-index"></a>Page Index</h3> | |
<p>The page index is used to quickly navigate to the various sections of | |
the documentation on the page, and when present should be located just | |
below the Page Banner.</p> | |
<p>The index list should generally be constructed using an HTML "definition | |
list" (<dl> and <DT> tags). A definition list has no bullets or | |
ordered specifications and produces a cleaner layout then an unordered list | |
(<UL> and <li> tags) or an ordered list (<ol> and | |
<li> tags). If you choose to use the Boost Style Sheet you should add | |
a <code>class="page-index"</code> attribute/value pair to the <dl> | |
tag.</p> | |
<p>Most pages should include a Page Index.</p> | |
<h3><a name="content" id="content"></a>Documentation Content</h3> | |
<p>The page's actual documentation content will be formatted according to | |
the specific needs of individual pages, and should be placed right after | |
the Page Index if present, or after the Page Banner if not. In general the | |
documentation content will take the form of paragraph text contained | |
underneath section headings.</p> | |
<h3><a name="doc-footnotes" id="doc-footnotes"></a>Footnotes</h3> | |
<p>Footnotes may be used within a page's documentation. Within the | |
documentation content a footnote reference should take the form of a | |
footnote number in parentheses (the parentheses make it easier for the | |
reader to click on the hyper link) hyper linking to the actual footnote at | |
the bottom of the page's documentation content. You may either use the | |
<sup> tag to format such footnote numbers, or, preferably, you can | |
use a CSS style class in order to distinguish the number as a footnote | |
instead of as part of the actual text. If you choose to use the common | |
<a href="#boost-style-sheet">Boost Style Sheet</a>, a <code>footnote</code> | |
class is defined for this purpose.</p> | |
<h3><a name="revision-info" id="revision-info"></a>Revision | |
Information</h3> | |
<p>At the bottom of every page should be some revision information | |
indicating when the page was last revised. This information should be | |
separated from the rest of the page above by an <hr> tag. The | |
following HTML code snippet can be used to track this revision information | |
(this code uses some server components that exist on the Boost web site to | |
automatically track revision dates with out the need for hand editing the | |
date text):</p> | |
<pre> | |
<hr> | |
<p>Revised | |
<!--webbot bot="Timestamp" S-Type="EDITED" S-Format="%d %B, %Y" startspan --> | |
01 January, 2001 | |
<!--webbot bot="Timestamp" endspan i-checksum="39359" --> | |
</p> | |
</pre> | |
<h3><a name="copyright" id="copyright"></a>Copyright Information</h3> | |
<p>The very bottom of the page should contain any copyright information | |
that applies to the document.</p> | |
<h2><a name="format" id="format"></a>Format</h2> | |
<p>This section provides general guidelines for formatting documentation | |
using HTML. The description of the various "common pages" gave specific | |
details for formatting specific sections of the documentation, which should | |
override these guidelines.</p> | |
<h3><a name="code-format" id="code-format"></a>Code</h3> | |
<p>Code within the documentation should be placed within either | |
<code></code> or <pre></pre> tags. For code that's | |
placed inline with other text you use <code></code> tags, while | |
<pre></pre> tags are used for code "blocks". If a cascading | |
style sheet is used to specify formatting for these tags, a fixed width | |
sans serif font should be used. This insures that the code is easily | |
distinguishable from the rest of the text. It may also be beneficial to set | |
the style for <pre></pre> tags to indent the text, to help | |
separate code blocks from other structural HTML blocks. The <a href= | |
"#boost-style-sheet">Boost Style Sheet</a> specifies formatting for these | |
tags.</p> | |
<p><b>Note:</b> "Code" includes variable names, function names, etc.</p> | |
<h3><a name="lists" id="lists"></a>Lists</h3> | |
<p>Lists should be constructed as unordered (<UL> and <li> | |
tags), ordered (<ol> and <li> tags) or definition (<dl> | |
and <DT> tags) lists in HTML. You use an unordered list when you need | |
a collection of items that don't have any kind of logical ordering, such as | |
a list of data types that are defined by the library and can be used for a | |
template argument. You use an ordered list when the collection of items | |
must be grouped in a logical ordering, such as when enumerating the steps | |
that an action logically performs. You use a definition list when the list | |
consists of not only items that have no logical ordering, but also contains | |
definitions/descriptions/etc. of the items. A good example of this is the | |
function specifications as described in <a href= | |
"structure.html">Documentation Structure</a>.</p> | |
<h3><a name="graphics" id="graphics"></a>Graphics</h3> | |
<p>Graphics should be used very sparingly, if at all. Graphic images | |
greatly effect the download time for many people, which can discourage | |
users from reading the documentation. If you need graphic images to help | |
illustrate something in your documentation consider supplying only a link | |
to the image within the documentation, instead of embedding it directly in | |
the text. If an image is going to be included in the text of the document | |
you should specify the image's size in the <img> tag, in order to | |
allow the user's browser to optimize the formatting of the text before the | |
image is loaded.</p> | |
<h3><a name="non-breaking-spaces" id="non-breaking-spaces"></a>Non-breaking | |
Spaces</h3> | |
<p>Non-breaking spaces (&nbsp;) should be avoided in HTML text. | |
Generally there are more appropriate ways to format the document, such as | |
using list constructs or specifying indentation as a style attribute or in | |
cascading style sheets.</p> | |
<h3><a name="style-sheets" id="style-sheets"></a>Cascading Style | |
Sheets</h3> | |
<p>Cascading style sheets allow you to apply some advanced formatting | |
styles to an HTML document. More importantly, they allow you to change the | |
formatting in a single file and effect all pages using the style sheet. | |
Instead of struggling to produce a specific format in HTML it's often | |
easier and more flexible to specify the formatting in a style sheet.</p> | |
<h4><a name="boost-style-sheet" id="boost-style-sheet"></a>Boost Style | |
Sheet</h4> | |
<p>The concept of using cascading style sheets to format HTML is such a | |
good idea that it can be beneficial to apply this across the entire Boost | |
site. Of course we can't require this (if Boost were to require such trivia | |
for submissions it's likely that many programmers would be discouraged from | |
contributing). However, a "standard" Boost style sheet | |
(http://www.boost.org/boost.css) is supplied anyway, so that a contributer | |
can quickly and easily produce clear and consistent documentation that | |
reflects a Boost "brand" if they so choose. If, at a later date, it's | |
decided to update the Boost "brand", it may be done in this single file and | |
all documents using the style sheet will automatically be updated.</p> | |
<p>The Boost supplied style sheet not only specifies styles for many | |
standard tags, it also specifies several style "classes". A class is | |
specified for a given tag instead of being applied to all instances of a | |
given tag type. Below is a list of the classes specified in the Boost style | |
sheet and a description of when to use them:</p> | |
<dl> | |
<dt><b>index</b> Used for <dl> tags when writing index lists.</dt> | |
<dt><b>page-index</b> Used for <dl> tags when writing page index | |
lists.</dt> | |
<dt><b>Footnote</b> Used when writing Footnote numbers.</dt> | |
<dt><b>function-semantics</b> Used for <dl> tags when writing | |
function semantic lists.</dt> | |
</dl> | |
<h2><a name="templates" id="templates"></a>Templates</h2> | |
<p>Instead of hand coding every HTML page, HTML "templates" can be used | |
instead. The list below provides links to templates that may be used when | |
writing documentation for a contribution to Boost. Links provided in these | |
templates assume the files will reside in the "traditional" directory | |
hierarchy of <i>boost/libs/library/doc</i>. They may need correcting if the | |
file will reside in some other location.</p> | |
<p><b>Note:</b> Since these "templates" are just HTML pages simply clicking | |
on the links below will load the template in your browser. You will need to | |
use a browser specific method to download the files instead of loading them | |
into the browser (for instance, on most Windows browsers you can right | |
click on the link and select the appropriate command from the context | |
sensitive menu).</p> | |
<ul> | |
<li><a name="index-template" id="index-template"></a><a href= | |
"template/index.html">Index Page Template</a></li> | |
<li><a name="overview-template" id="overview-template"></a><a href= | |
"template/overview.html">Overview Page Template</a></li> | |
<li><a name="definitions-template" id="definitions-template"></a><a href= | |
"template/definitions.html">Definitions Page Template</a></li> | |
<li><a name="rationale-template" id="rationale-template"></a><a href= | |
"template/rationale.html">Rationale Page Template</a></li> | |
<li><a name="configuration-template" id= | |
"configuration-template"></a><a href= | |
"template/configuration.html">Configuration Page Template</a></li> | |
<li><a name="faq-template" id="faq-template"></a><a href= | |
"template/faq.html">FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Page | |
Template</a></li> | |
<li><a name="bibliography-template" id= | |
"bibliography-template"></a><a href= | |
"template/bibliography.html">Bibliography Page Template</a></li> | |
<li><a name="acknowledgements-template" id= | |
"acknowledgements-template"></a><a href= | |
"template/acknowledgments.html">Acknowledgments Page Template</a></li> | |
<li><a name="header-template" id="header-template"></a><a href= | |
"template/header.html">Header Page Template</a></li> | |
</ul> | |
<hr> | |
<p><a href="http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=referer"><img border="0" src= | |
"../../doc/images/valid-html401.png" alt="Valid HTML 4.01 Transitional" | |
height="31" width="88"></a></p> | |
<p>Revised | |
<!--webbot bot="Timestamp" s-type="EDITED" s-format="%d %B, %Y" startspan -->04 | |
December, 2006<!--webbot bot="Timestamp" endspan i-checksum="38514" --></p> | |
<p><i>Copyright © 2001 <a href= | |
"mailto:williamkempf@hotmail.com">William E. Kempf</a></i></p> | |
<p><i>Distributed under the Boost Software License, Version 1.0. (See | |
accompanying file <a href="../../LICENSE_1_0.txt">LICENSE_1_0.txt</a> or | |
copy at <a href= | |
"http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt">http://www.boost.org/LICENSE_1_0.txt</a>)</i></p> | |
</body> | |
</html> |