mdn development & web documentation
DESCRIPTION
Session at Mozilla Camp Europe 2011 in Berlin, Germany by Jay Patel & Jean-Yves Perrier about our work on the Mozilla Developer Network (MDN). Jay covers the evolution of MDN as a platform for developer engagement and Jean-Yves discusses our Web documentation efforts.TRANSCRIPT
Agenda
What will we cover?
•Branding
•Evolution of MDN
•Kuma Project
•Developer Engagement Platform
•Development
•Documentation
The many names for
developer.mozilla.org
DevMo
MDC
MDN
#devmo IRC channel(historical short name for domain)
MDN Documentation Center(docs section of MDN)
Mozilla Developer Network(website, community, campaigns, etc.)
Evolution of
MDN
•Build platform for developer engagement
•Leverage Django code from SUMO (Kitsune)
• Improve documentation and editorial processes
•Fix the l10n experience for localizers
•Add social features and collaboration tools
•Grow new areas for demos, events, learning, and community
Goals for the
Kuma Project
Platform for
Developer Engagement
Agile process for
Kuma Development
2 week “sprints”• MDN dev team includes 3 dev + 1 qa + 1 doc + 1 pm• Weekly bug triage and planning meeting• 20-25 “points” per sprint• 10 days dev + 5 days QA
Bugs / Backlog in Bugzilla• Product: Mozilla Developer Network• Component: Website
Feedback / Feature Requests with UserVoice• http://mdn.uservoice.com
/forums/51389-mdn-website-feedback-http-developer-mozilla-org
Learn more about our process• http://groovecoder.com/2011/07/18/bugzilla-agile/• http://groovecoder.com/2011/11/09/mdn-agile-status/
Tracking Kuma development with
BugzillaJS
Progress update and next steps for
Kuma Roadmap
2010• Django front-end + infrastructure
2011• Q1: Demo Studio + Start Wiki• Q2: MDN Learning + Dev Derby• Q3: Where is Mozilla? + MDN Profiles• Q4: Finish Wiki + Apps + Discussions
2012• Q1: Docs Migration + Start l10n + Kuma Beta• Q2: Finish l10n + Kuma Launch• Q3: Continue to evolve based on feedback
General Info: https://wiki.mozilla.org/MDN
Kuma Project Info:https://wiki.mozilla.org/MDN/Kuma
Kuma Milestones: https://wiki.mozilla.org/MDN/Milestones
Mailing list: https://lists.mozilla.org/listinfo/dev-mdn
IRC: #mdn on irc.mozilla.org
Learn more, stay connected, and
Join Us!
Jay PatelProduct Manager,
MDN
[email protected]@jaybhai
jay on IRC
It’s time for me to stop talking…
Thanks!
Jean-Yves is up next…
HTML, CSS, JS, HTTP, SSL...
Learning the web is as complex as learning a human
language...
<article><input type= "email">
<bdi>
<audio>
<video><!DOCTYPE html>
The web is evolving faster and faster...
tab-size :linear-gradient()
transform :backface-visibility :
@font-face
hsla()
The web is heterogenous,
moving at different paces,
and new actors are coming.
And what do we have ?Lot of outdated or
poor documentation.
There is good info,but buried and
scattered.
The non-specialistdoesn't recognize it,
if it find it.
And the spec is precisebut different from
the reality...
For the Open Web
We need a documentation :
•Up-to-date
•Browser agnostic
•Complete
•Practical
•with examples
•with good practices
•with bad practices debunked
We need to know :
•Spec status
•Current implementation
•Answer to practicalcases
But...
there are more than the Open Web at
Mozilla
<XUL>
Gecko
For Mozilla StuffWe need a
documentation :
•Up-to-date
•Browser agnostic
•Complete
•Practical
•with examples
•with good practices
•with bad practices debunked
We need to know :
•What's going on...
•How it works...
Port
al Pa
ge (
Lan
din
g P
ag
e) Index
Reference Pages
Concept Pages ("Using XYZ…") Tutorials
Articles Demos
Typical Doc Structure
CSS landing page
CSS index
MDN is an integrated Mozilla product
How to help ?
Fix a typoAdd an example
Add an internal link
Add a link from a blogTell about it
Fix compatibility info
Write a missing article
Complete an article
Correct an error Use it
Create an account
And that's it. Welcome new MDN editor !
A simple editing session
To be a better editor...
Write sentences, not lists (SEO).
Be precise : a CSS at-rule is not a CSS property
To be a better editor...
Link, link, link ! Internally or externally.
Navigability is the key to find quickly the right information.
Christmas Tree effect
To be a better editor...
•Cite sources (the '#' shortcut)
# will becomes [1], [2], ...
•Respect copyrights.
Do not be afraid, but...•Do not move pages around without knowing what
you are doing.
•Put a comment when editing!
Future challenges
•Increase quality of content and form.
•Keep up-to-date with new spec (CSS4, DOM4).
•Keep up with the 6-weeks release schedule.
•Live examples.
•Screencasts.
•L10n.
•KUMA migration.
Getting help
•Mozilla IRC : #devmo channel
•Newsgroup : mozilla.dev.mdc
Bi-monthly community meeting on IRC,
(announced on mozilla.dev.mdc)
•Twitter @teoli2003
Doc Sprints
3-4 times a year, a few Mozillians meet during a week-end.
Next early 2012, info will be posted on
http://hacks.mozilla.org and on mozilla.dev.mdc
In conclusion,
•Mozilla choosed the Open Web as one of the worthy battles to fight, the MDN is one of the weapon for this one.
•Almost anybody can help.
Q&A
MDN Production:http://developer.mozilla.org/
Kuma Staging Server:https://kuma-stage.mozilla.org/en-US/