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Diffstat (limited to 'nixos/doc/manual/development/writing-documentation.xml')
| -rw-r--r-- | nixos/doc/manual/development/writing-documentation.xml | 74 |
1 files changed, 56 insertions, 18 deletions
diff --git a/nixos/doc/manual/development/writing-documentation.xml b/nixos/doc/manual/development/writing-documentation.xml index ffefa208f66c..2183937ad0da 100644 --- a/nixos/doc/manual/development/writing-documentation.xml +++ b/nixos/doc/manual/development/writing-documentation.xml @@ -5,13 +5,18 @@ xml:id="sec-writing-documentation"> <title>Writing NixOS Documentation</title> <para> - As NixOS grows, so too does the need for a catalogue and explanation of its extensive functionality. Collecting pertinent information from disparate sources and presenting it in an accessible style would be a worthy contribution to the project. + As NixOS grows, so too does the need for a catalogue and explanation of its + extensive functionality. Collecting pertinent information from disparate + sources and presenting it in an accessible style would be a worthy + contribution to the project. </para> <section xml:id="sec-writing-docs-building-the-manual"> <title>Building the Manual</title> <para> - The DocBook sources of the <xref linkend="book-nixos-manual"/> are in the <link xlink:href="https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/tree/master/nixos/doc/manual"><filename>nixos/doc/manual</filename></link> subdirectory of the Nixpkgs repository. + The DocBook sources of the <xref linkend="book-nixos-manual"/> are in the + <link xlink:href="https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/tree/master/nixos/doc/manual"><filename>nixos/doc/manual</filename></link> + subdirectory of the Nixpkgs repository. </para> <para> @@ -24,45 +29,59 @@ </screen> <para> - Once you are done making modifications to the manual, it's important to build it before committing. You can do that as follows: + Once you are done making modifications to the manual, it's important to + build it before committing. You can do that as follows: </para> <screen>nix-build nixos/release.nix -A manual.x86_64-linux</screen> <para> - When this command successfully finishes, it will tell you where the manual got generated. The HTML will be accessible through the <filename>result</filename> symlink at <filename>./result/share/doc/nixos/index.html</filename>. + When this command successfully finishes, it will tell you where the manual + got generated. The HTML will be accessible through the + <filename>result</filename> symlink at + <filename>./result/share/doc/nixos/index.html</filename>. </para> </section> <section xml:id="sec-writing-docs-editing-docbook-xml"> <title>Editing DocBook XML</title> <para> - For general information on how to write in DocBook, see <link xlink:href="http://www.docbook.org/tdg5/en/html/docbook.html"> DocBook 5: The Definitive Guide</link>. + For general information on how to write in DocBook, see + <link xlink:href="http://www.docbook.org/tdg5/en/html/docbook.html"> DocBook + 5: The Definitive Guide</link>. </para> <para> - Emacs nXML Mode is very helpful for editing DocBook XML because it validates the document as you write, and precisely locates errors. To use it, see <xref linkend="sec-emacs-docbook-xml"/>. + Emacs nXML Mode is very helpful for editing DocBook XML because it validates + the document as you write, and precisely locates errors. To use it, see + <xref linkend="sec-emacs-docbook-xml"/>. </para> <para> - <link xlink:href="http://pandoc.org">Pandoc</link> can generate DocBook XML from a multitude of formats, which makes a good starting point. + <link xlink:href="http://pandoc.org">Pandoc</link> can generate DocBook XML + from a multitude of formats, which makes a good starting point. <example xml:id="ex-pandoc-xml-conv"> <title>Pandoc invocation to convert GitHub-Flavoured MarkDown to DocBook 5 XML</title> <screen>pandoc -f markdown_github -t docbook5 docs.md -o my-section.md</screen> </example> - Pandoc can also quickly convert a single <filename>section.xml</filename> to HTML, which is helpful when drafting. + Pandoc can also quickly convert a single <filename>section.xml</filename> to + HTML, which is helpful when drafting. </para> <para> - Sometimes writing valid DocBook is simply too difficult. In this case, submit your documentation updates in a <link - xlink:href="https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues/new">GitHub Issue</link> and someone will handle the conversion to XML for you. + Sometimes writing valid DocBook is simply too difficult. In this case, + submit your documentation updates in a + <link + xlink:href="https://github.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/issues/new">GitHub + Issue</link> and someone will handle the conversion to XML for you. </para> </section> <section xml:id="sec-writing-docs-creating-a-topic"> <title>Creating a Topic</title> <para> - You can use an existing topic as a basis for the new topic or create a topic from scratch. + You can use an existing topic as a basis for the new topic or create a topic + from scratch. </para> <para> @@ -70,27 +89,40 @@ <itemizedlist> <listitem> <para> - The NixOS <link xlink:href="http://www.docbook.org/tdg5/en/html/book.html"><tag>book</tag></link> element is in <filename>nixos/doc/manual/manual.xml</filename>. It includes several <link xlink:href="http://www.docbook.org/tdg5/en/html/book.html"><tag>part</tag>s</link> which are in subdirectories. + The NixOS + <link xlink:href="http://www.docbook.org/tdg5/en/html/book.html"><tag>book</tag></link> + element is in <filename>nixos/doc/manual/manual.xml</filename>. It + includes several + <link xlink:href="http://www.docbook.org/tdg5/en/html/book.html"><tag>part</tag>s</link> + which are in subdirectories. </para> </listitem> <listitem> <para> - Store the topic file in the same directory as the <tag>part</tag> to which it belongs. If your topic is about configuring a NixOS module, then the XML file can be stored alongside the module definition <filename>nix</filename> file. + Store the topic file in the same directory as the <tag>part</tag> to + which it belongs. If your topic is about configuring a NixOS module, then + the XML file can be stored alongside the module definition + <filename>nix</filename> file. </para> </listitem> <listitem> <para> - If you include multiple words in the file name, separate the words with a dash. For example: <filename>ipv6-config.xml</filename>. + If you include multiple words in the file name, separate the words with a + dash. For example: <filename>ipv6-config.xml</filename>. </para> </listitem> <listitem> <para> - Make sure that the <tag>xml:id</tag> value is unique. You can use abbreviations if the ID is too long. For example: <varname>nixos-config</varname>. + Make sure that the <tag>xml:id</tag> value is unique. You can use + abbreviations if the ID is too long. For example: + <varname>nixos-config</varname>. </para> </listitem> <listitem> <para> - Determine whether your topic is a chapter or a section. If you are unsure, open an existing topic file and check whether the main element is chapter or section. + Determine whether your topic is a chapter or a section. If you are + unsure, open an existing topic file and check whether the main element is + chapter or section. </para> </listitem> </itemizedlist> @@ -100,11 +132,17 @@ <title>Adding a Topic to the Book</title> <para> - Open the parent XML file and add an <varname>xi:include</varname> element to the list of chapters with the file name of the topic that you created. If you created a <tag>section</tag>, you add the file to the <tag>chapter</tag> file. If you created a <tag>chapter</tag>, you add the file to the <tag>part</tag> file. + Open the parent XML file and add an <varname>xi:include</varname> element to + the list of chapters with the file name of the topic that you created. If + you created a <tag>section</tag>, you add the file to the <tag>chapter</tag> + file. If you created a <tag>chapter</tag>, you add the file to the + <tag>part</tag> file. </para> <para> - If the topic is about configuring a NixOS module, it can be automatically included in the manual by using the <varname>meta.doc</varname> attribute. See <xref + If the topic is about configuring a NixOS module, it can be automatically + included in the manual by using the <varname>meta.doc</varname> attribute. + See <xref linkend="sec-meta-attributes"/> for an explanation. </para> </section> |