Suggestion on how to write an article
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Hello guys. I am writing an article on Interprocess Communication with native C++ on Windows. Not that there is any shortage of them but I am just really interested in it like mad. To be frank, I don’t want to just write stuff that is already available. What I actually want to do is to enumerate all the Interprocess Communication stuff that windows supports and give short tutorials on each. Then I would like to discuss which of them is suited for what kind of purposes. Actually I might also write it the other way round by first talking about some situations in which Interprocess Communication is needed and then give my opinion on which may be most suitable for each case and then write how to go about each of them. That way the reader can jump to a more relevant method faster so he does not have to waste time on non relevant stuff. Of course it is meant only for people who have hit an interprocess communication road block for the first time. But to my dismay, just the size of the article to me seems to be alarming. Which is not a good article for the beginner to read. That is bugging me a lot. By the way, this is going to be my first article. So any suggestions are welcome. So what are your thoughts on this?
Abhishek The worst loneliness is not to be comfortable with yourself. --Mark Twain
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Hello guys. I am writing an article on Interprocess Communication with native C++ on Windows. Not that there is any shortage of them but I am just really interested in it like mad. To be frank, I don’t want to just write stuff that is already available. What I actually want to do is to enumerate all the Interprocess Communication stuff that windows supports and give short tutorials on each. Then I would like to discuss which of them is suited for what kind of purposes. Actually I might also write it the other way round by first talking about some situations in which Interprocess Communication is needed and then give my opinion on which may be most suitable for each case and then write how to go about each of them. That way the reader can jump to a more relevant method faster so he does not have to waste time on non relevant stuff. Of course it is meant only for people who have hit an interprocess communication road block for the first time. But to my dismay, just the size of the article to me seems to be alarming. Which is not a good article for the beginner to read. That is bugging me a lot. By the way, this is going to be my first article. So any suggestions are welcome. So what are your thoughts on this?
Abhishek The worst loneliness is not to be comfortable with yourself. --Mark Twain
Great topic. I'd be interested in reading your stuff. Just one thing to say: break it down into several small articles!!
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Great topic. I'd be interested in reading your stuff. Just one thing to say: break it down into several small articles!!
Pierre Leclercq wrote:
break it down into several small articles!!
Yes, that might be a good way to make it look small.:)
Abhishek The worst loneliness is not to be comfortable with yourself. --Mark Twain
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Hello guys. I am writing an article on Interprocess Communication with native C++ on Windows. Not that there is any shortage of them but I am just really interested in it like mad. To be frank, I don’t want to just write stuff that is already available. What I actually want to do is to enumerate all the Interprocess Communication stuff that windows supports and give short tutorials on each. Then I would like to discuss which of them is suited for what kind of purposes. Actually I might also write it the other way round by first talking about some situations in which Interprocess Communication is needed and then give my opinion on which may be most suitable for each case and then write how to go about each of them. That way the reader can jump to a more relevant method faster so he does not have to waste time on non relevant stuff. Of course it is meant only for people who have hit an interprocess communication road block for the first time. But to my dismay, just the size of the article to me seems to be alarming. Which is not a good article for the beginner to read. That is bugging me a lot. By the way, this is going to be my first article. So any suggestions are welcome. So what are your thoughts on this?
Abhishek The worst loneliness is not to be comfortable with yourself. --Mark Twain
I think Pierre's suggestion is a good one. From my experience, there are 2 things that will help to improve your article's rating: screenshots and example code. The code should not be too fancy - just illustrate the main points of the article - what problems you had to overcome, coding pitfalls, things you tried that didn't work, MSDN documentation glitches, etc. Readers do not respond well to long code sequences with no accompanying explanation. Do not try to include all the code in the article body - provide demo apps that users can compile and run themselves. Give references for further in-depth reading. Since you will be covering several types of IPC, the last article in the series could compare all the types - performance, ease of use, etc. - and summarize. A couple of final things: readers get bugged when they don't understand your development environment. Make it clear what compilers you have tested your code on (6.0, 7.1, 8.0), and also what platforms (Win98, 2000, XP). It would be great if you could talk about the coding techniques that had to be used on specific platforms. And finally, you should be aware that not all the readers here on CP are mature. You might find your article getting some very low votes, with no explanation. Don't worry about these - over time, the positive votes will wipe them out. Best wishes, Hans
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I think Pierre's suggestion is a good one. From my experience, there are 2 things that will help to improve your article's rating: screenshots and example code. The code should not be too fancy - just illustrate the main points of the article - what problems you had to overcome, coding pitfalls, things you tried that didn't work, MSDN documentation glitches, etc. Readers do not respond well to long code sequences with no accompanying explanation. Do not try to include all the code in the article body - provide demo apps that users can compile and run themselves. Give references for further in-depth reading. Since you will be covering several types of IPC, the last article in the series could compare all the types - performance, ease of use, etc. - and summarize. A couple of final things: readers get bugged when they don't understand your development environment. Make it clear what compilers you have tested your code on (6.0, 7.1, 8.0), and also what platforms (Win98, 2000, XP). It would be great if you could talk about the coding techniques that had to be used on specific platforms. And finally, you should be aware that not all the readers here on CP are mature. You might find your article getting some very low votes, with no explanation. Don't worry about these - over time, the positive votes will wipe them out. Best wishes, Hans
Thanks for your great suggestions. I appreciate your taking time to answer my question. I'll try my best to incorporate them in my article.
Abhishek The worst loneliness is not to be comfortable with yourself. --Mark Twain
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Hello guys. I am writing an article on Interprocess Communication with native C++ on Windows. Not that there is any shortage of them but I am just really interested in it like mad. To be frank, I don’t want to just write stuff that is already available. What I actually want to do is to enumerate all the Interprocess Communication stuff that windows supports and give short tutorials on each. Then I would like to discuss which of them is suited for what kind of purposes. Actually I might also write it the other way round by first talking about some situations in which Interprocess Communication is needed and then give my opinion on which may be most suitable for each case and then write how to go about each of them. That way the reader can jump to a more relevant method faster so he does not have to waste time on non relevant stuff. Of course it is meant only for people who have hit an interprocess communication road block for the first time. But to my dismay, just the size of the article to me seems to be alarming. Which is not a good article for the beginner to read. That is bugging me a lot. By the way, this is going to be my first article. So any suggestions are welcome. So what are your thoughts on this?
Abhishek The worst loneliness is not to be comfortable with yourself. --Mark Twain
If you haven't seen this before: Marc Clifton's tips on how to write a good article[^] - Smitha
Are you an aspiring author? Read how to submit articles to CodeProject: Article Submission Guidelines[^] More questions? Ask an editor here...
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If you haven't seen this before: Marc Clifton's tips on how to write a good article[^] - Smitha
Are you an aspiring author? Read how to submit articles to CodeProject: Article Submission Guidelines[^] More questions? Ask an editor here...
Smitha Vijayan wrote:
If you haven't seen this before: Marc Clifton's tips on how to write a good article[^]
I second that - all new authors should at least scan through Marc's article.
Regards, Nish
Nish’s thoughts on MFC, C++/CLI and .NET (my blog)
Currently working on C++/CLI in Action for Manning Publications. Also visit the Ultimate Toolbox blog (New) -
If you haven't seen this before: Marc Clifton's tips on how to write a good article[^] - Smitha
Are you an aspiring author? Read how to submit articles to CodeProject: Article Submission Guidelines[^] More questions? Ask an editor here...
-
If you haven't seen this before: Marc Clifton's tips on how to write a good article[^] - Smitha
Are you an aspiring author? Read how to submit articles to CodeProject: Article Submission Guidelines[^] More questions? Ask an editor here...
I read the article. Thanks a lot for pointing it out.:)
Abhishek The worst loneliness is not to be comfortable with yourself. --Mark Twain