First off: all well said! +1 ...a few comments though. (Will this thread ever gonna stop? ;) )
First, how much are you paying for the documentation? How much did you pay for the IDE? I mean, I'd love everything to be perfect for everybody, but let's be realistic here. Apple doesn't derive any direct income from the documentation or from Xcode, and as much as we might think that shouldn't matter, Apple's a corporation, so it's going to matter. That's reality, and it's not going to change. Resources are limited, and considering the resources that are available for API documentation, I think they do a phenomenal job, and I honestly hate that some of the comments in this thread could be read as disparaging their work, even if unintentionally.
Well, they are free to open source XCode and have other people help. Look at Eclipse.
Paying for documentation is a weird thought though. Apple should be happy to attract developers to have the platform flourish. That's an investment you have to make if you want to be the controlling entity of an operating system.
I think even for the documentation user generated content could be a good way to "spice it up". This worked very well for PHP for example. It would be valuable feedback for the tech writers. Just submitting bugs to the documentation is not the same. We are entering the age of user generated content. Let's not miss the boat here. Cocoadev is great - but too separate.
Thirdly, who is the target audience for the documentation. ... This recent influx of new coders is quite a sudden change to the demographic. Apple can't be expected to adjust to that change instantaneously. I don't think it's even completely clear yet who's coming to the platform right now and why.
Totally agree. But just looking at the thread (and the popularity of the platforms) I would guess many people will have either a C# or Java background.
To the extent that people are trying to give feedback to Apple so they know how best to proceed with future revisions to the documentation, I think this discussion is valuable, but at times we veer dangerously close to a pissing match mentality, and when that happens, I don't think it's productive (even when it's me doing it :) )
It sometimes has come very close ...but I am still surprised how well it went in general. Pat on the back to everyone. Such threads are a breeding ground for flames.
Now, if you're having a hard time with the documentation, and the third party books aren't closing the gap for you, maybe you should consider something like the classes at the Big Nerd Ranch, where you can get direct feedback and answers from people who do have the big picture and can work with you to help you get it too. It's probably the fastest way to get over the hump. Though this list is tremendously helpful, it's really better for answering concrete technical questions than theoretical or conceptual ones, which rarely yield the answer you're looking for, and often lead to long- winded discussions like this one ;)
I think face-to-face is an important part to overcome the obstacles. And this will become easier the more popular it gets.
cheers -- Torsten _______________________________________________ Cocoa-dev mailing list (Cocoa-dev@lists.apple.com) Please do not post admin requests or moderator comments to the list. Contact the moderators at cocoa-dev-admins(at)lists.apple.com Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/cocoa-dev/archive%40mail-archive.com This email sent to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
