Information about Documentation
In general terms, documentation is any communicable material (such as text, video, audio, etc., or combinations thereof) used to explain some attributes of an object, system or procedure. It is often used to mean engineering or software documentation, which is usually paper books or computer readable files (such as HTML pages) that describe the structure and components, or on the other hand, operation, of a system/product.
A professional whose field and work is more or less exclusively to write documentation is called a documenter. Normally, documenters are trained or have a background in technical writing, along with some knowledge of the subject(s) they are documenting. Often, though, some part or all of the documentation process is done by the engineers responsible for the system/product to be documented.
By engineers, perhaps among software engineers in particular, documentation is often referred to as the "boring side" of engineering, or considered a necessary evil. This is largely unavoidable since most engineers prefer building things to documenting them, and being implicit experts in what they have built, they may have little motivation in documenting their creations so that others may understand them.
Common types of computer hardware/software documentation include online help, FAQs, HowTos, and user guide s. The term RTFM is often used in regard to such documentation, especially to computer hardware and software user guides.
A common type of software document frequently written by software engineers in the simulation industry is the SDF (software documentation folder). While developing the software for a simulator, which can range from embedded avionics devices to 3D terrain databases to full motion control systems, the engineer keeps a notebook detailing the development lifecycle of the project. The notebook can contain a requirements section, an interface section detailing the communication interface of the software, a notes section to detail the proof of concept attempts to track what worked or didn't work in solving certain problems, and a testing section to detail how the software will be tested to prove conformance to the requirements of the contract. The end result is a detailed description of how the software is designed, how to build and install the software on the target device, and any known weaknesses in the design of the software. This document will allow future developers and maintainers of the trainer to come up to speed on the software design in as short a time as possible and have a documented reference when modifying code or searching for bugs.
In some European countries, documentation in an academic context is an obsolete term for the field of study that is now known as library science or information science.
A professional whose field and work is more or less exclusively to write documentation is called a documenter. Normally, documenters are trained or have a background in technical writing, along with some knowledge of the subject(s) they are documenting. Often, though, some part or all of the documentation process is done by the engineers responsible for the system/product to be documented.
By engineers, perhaps among software engineers in particular, documentation is often referred to as the "boring side" of engineering, or considered a necessary evil. This is largely unavoidable since most engineers prefer building things to documenting them, and being implicit experts in what they have built, they may have little motivation in documenting their creations so that others may understand them.
Common types of computer hardware/software documentation include online help, FAQs, HowTos, and user guide s. The term RTFM is often used in regard to such documentation, especially to computer hardware and software user guides.
A common type of software document frequently written by software engineers in the simulation industry is the SDF (software documentation folder). While developing the software for a simulator, which can range from embedded avionics devices to 3D terrain databases to full motion control systems, the engineer keeps a notebook detailing the development lifecycle of the project. The notebook can contain a requirements section, an interface section detailing the communication interface of the software, a notes section to detail the proof of concept attempts to track what worked or didn't work in solving certain problems, and a testing section to detail how the software will be tested to prove conformance to the requirements of the contract. The end result is a detailed description of how the software is designed, how to build and install the software on the target device, and any known weaknesses in the design of the software. This document will allow future developers and maintainers of the trainer to come up to speed on the software design in as short a time as possible and have a documented reference when modifying code or searching for bugs.
In some European countries, documentation in an academic context is an obsolete term for the field of study that is now known as library science or information science.
See also
External Links
- Documentation Definition by The Linux Information Project (LINFO)
- Information & Documentation List of selected tools
Engineering is the applied science of acquiring and applying knowledge to design, analysis, and/or construction of works for practical purposes. The American Engineers' Council for Professional Development, also known as ECPD,[1] (later ABET [2]
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Software documentation or source code documentation is written text that accompanies computer software. It either explains how it operates or how to use it, and may mean different things to people in different roles.
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machine-readable (or computer-readable) refers to information encoded in a form which can be read (i.e., scanned/sensed) by a machine/computer and interpreted by the machine's hardware and/or software.
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HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
File extension:
MIME type:
Type code: TEXT
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File extension:
.html, .htmMIME type:
text/htmlType code: TEXT
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Technical writers are professional writers who design, create, maintain and update many types of technical documentation, online help, user guides, white papers, design specifications, and other documents. Sometimes, a field engineer may need to be a technical writer, as well.
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Software engineering is the application of a systematic, disciplined, quantifiable approach to the development, operation, and maintenance of software.[1] The term software engineering
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Computer hardware is the physical part of a computer, including the digital circuitry, as distinguished from the computer software that executes within the hardware. The hardware of a computer is infrequently changed, in comparison with software and data, which are "soft" in the
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Computer software is a general term used to describe a collection of computer programs, procedures and documentation that perform some task on a computer system. [1]
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Online Help is topic, procedural or reference information delivered through computer software. It is a form of User Assistance. Most Help is designed to give assistance in the use of a software application or operating system, but can also be used to present information on a broad
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FAQ is an initialism for "Frequently Asked Question(s)". The term refers to listed questions and answers, all supposed to be frequently asked in some context, and pertaining to a particular topic.
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how-to or a howto is an informal, often short, description of how to accomplish some specific task. A how-to is generally meant to help non-experts, may leave out details that are only important to experts, and may also be greatly simplified from an overall discussion of the
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A user guide, also commonly known as a manual, is a technical communication document intended to give assistance to people using a particular system. It is usually written by a technical writer, although user guides could be written by programmers, product or project
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Library science is an interdisciplinary science incorporating the humanities, law and applied science to study topics related to libraries, the collection, organization, and dissemination of information resources, and the political economy of information.
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Information science (also information studies) is an interdisciplinary science primarily concerned with the collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information.
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A court order (or court ruling) is an official proclamation by a judge (or panel of judges) that defines the legal relationships between the parties to a hearing, a trial, an appeal or other court proceedings.
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document (noun) is a bounded physical representation of body of information designed with the capacity (and usually intent) to communicate. A document may manifest symbolic, diagrammatic or sensory-representational information.
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Freedom of information may refer to:
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- Whether particular information can be freely created, read, modified, copied and distributed; see Free content (as well as Free culture movement and Free software)
- Freedom to express one's opinions or ideas,
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Historical documents are documents that contain important information about a person, place, or event.
Most famous historical documents, consist of laws, accounts of battles (usually given by the victors), and the exploits of the powerful.
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Most famous historical documents, consist of laws, accounts of battles (usually given by the victors), and the exploits of the powerful.
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Template may mean:
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- a stencil, pattern or overlay used in graphic arts (drawing, painting, etc) and sewing to replicate letters, shapes or designs
- a pre-developed page layout in electronic or paper media used to create new pages from the same design, pattern, or style
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