Open Source Web Applications ...
-
For the past couple of years I've been following the progress of the DotNetNuke community and for the most part I am very impressed with the progress and the professionalism of the community. However, from time to time I need to post a question in the forum and usually get a reply within a short period of time, but what I have found, and its very frustrating is that the comments or answers provided usually always tell you to look at the documentation. Looking at the documentation isn't such a bad thing and usually that’s where I start, but some of the documentation is like reading the memoirs’ of a scatter brain, kind of like trying to read the MSDN files, take the ClientAPI documentation within DNN for instance, just useless and I can never get a straight answer from the lead on that project ... always just "Look at the documentation...” So my question for the Code Project community is this: What’s your favorite, or what open source web community do you like and why, also include what its like getting help to questions when developing code for the application. Cheers, Xaverian
What we need is a patch for human stupidity
When they say read the docs do they point you to where in the docs? We do that sometimes with our support requests when something complex is explained in great deal in the manual and the customer is better served by reading the section in question than with a quick off the cuff answer. We give them a page number in the manual or a link to the online docs page directly.
-
When they say read the docs do they point you to where in the docs? We do that sometimes with our support requests when something complex is explained in great deal in the manual and the customer is better served by reading the section in question than with a quick off the cuff answer. We give them a page number in the manual or a link to the online docs page directly.
Generally you don't get a page number, just a link to the docs. Don't get me wrong, I think DNN is great, its just the support and/or help is limited and now since they moved their forums from asp.net to their site they proof all posting before allowing them to be viewed, I've had some posting not even make it to the public area for others to respond too ... I find that kind of funny. It would be great if other users of the system could post comments / suggestions back to other users of the system too. What do you think?
What we need is a patch for human stupidity
-
For the past couple of years I've been following the progress of the DotNetNuke community and for the most part I am very impressed with the progress and the professionalism of the community. However, from time to time I need to post a question in the forum and usually get a reply within a short period of time, but what I have found, and its very frustrating is that the comments or answers provided usually always tell you to look at the documentation. Looking at the documentation isn't such a bad thing and usually that’s where I start, but some of the documentation is like reading the memoirs’ of a scatter brain, kind of like trying to read the MSDN files, take the ClientAPI documentation within DNN for instance, just useless and I can never get a straight answer from the lead on that project ... always just "Look at the documentation...” So my question for the Code Project community is this: What’s your favorite, or what open source web community do you like and why, also include what its like getting help to questions when developing code for the application. Cheers, Xaverian
What we need is a patch for human stupidity
Xaverian wrote:
Looking at the documentation isn't such a bad thing and usually that’s where I start, but some of the documentation is like reading the memoirs’ of a scatter brain
Funny. I once spent half an afternoon looking at DNN, and that was exactly the impression i got of the system as a whole... :rolleyes: I haven't used PHP in a good long while, but i still remember being impressed by the language / library documentation - not only was it well organized, but the system had a means of attaching comments and corrections to individual topics, and allowed downloading the whole thing as a stand-alone .CHM file for offline reading (this was back before wikis really took off, btw). As i was coming from a Win32 / MSDN background, it really had an impact on me.
-
For the past couple of years I've been following the progress of the DotNetNuke community and for the most part I am very impressed with the progress and the professionalism of the community. However, from time to time I need to post a question in the forum and usually get a reply within a short period of time, but what I have found, and its very frustrating is that the comments or answers provided usually always tell you to look at the documentation. Looking at the documentation isn't such a bad thing and usually that’s where I start, but some of the documentation is like reading the memoirs’ of a scatter brain, kind of like trying to read the MSDN files, take the ClientAPI documentation within DNN for instance, just useless and I can never get a straight answer from the lead on that project ... always just "Look at the documentation...” So my question for the Code Project community is this: What’s your favorite, or what open source web community do you like and why, also include what its like getting help to questions when developing code for the application. Cheers, Xaverian
What we need is a patch for human stupidity
My problem with DNN (and most open source projects) is that they clearly miss three things I want to know immediately: 1. where's the documentation 2. what platform(s) does it run on 3. where's the download page The number of convolutions to getting to the documentation download, the way important information like this runs only under PHP, and the number of clicks to get to the download page (if you can even find it) can sometimes be staggering and astounding. Marc
People are just notoriously impossible. --DavidCrow
There's NO excuse for not commenting your code. -- John Simmons / outlaw programmer
People who say that they will refactor their code later to make it "good" don't understand refactoring, nor the art and craft of programming. -- Josh Smith -
For the past couple of years I've been following the progress of the DotNetNuke community and for the most part I am very impressed with the progress and the professionalism of the community. However, from time to time I need to post a question in the forum and usually get a reply within a short period of time, but what I have found, and its very frustrating is that the comments or answers provided usually always tell you to look at the documentation. Looking at the documentation isn't such a bad thing and usually that’s where I start, but some of the documentation is like reading the memoirs’ of a scatter brain, kind of like trying to read the MSDN files, take the ClientAPI documentation within DNN for instance, just useless and I can never get a straight answer from the lead on that project ... always just "Look at the documentation...” So my question for the Code Project community is this: What’s your favorite, or what open source web community do you like and why, also include what its like getting help to questions when developing code for the application. Cheers, Xaverian
What we need is a patch for human stupidity
DNN is a bag full of rusty spanners. You might want to have a look at http://www.umbraco.org[^], a wonderfully designed content centric CMS system which I am currently procrastinating about implementing a lucene based page relation / content suggestion system for.
Ryan
"Michael Moore and Mel Gibson are the same person, except for a few sit-ups. Moore thought his cheesy political blooper reel was going to tell people how to vote. Mel thought that his little gay SM movie about his imaginary friend was going to help him get to heaven." - Penn Jillette
-
Xaverian wrote:
Looking at the documentation isn't such a bad thing and usually that’s where I start, but some of the documentation is like reading the memoirs’ of a scatter brain
Funny. I once spent half an afternoon looking at DNN, and that was exactly the impression i got of the system as a whole... :rolleyes: I haven't used PHP in a good long while, but i still remember being impressed by the language / library documentation - not only was it well organized, but the system had a means of attaching comments and corrections to individual topics, and allowed downloading the whole thing as a stand-alone .CHM file for offline reading (this was back before wikis really took off, btw). As i was coming from a Win32 / MSDN background, it really had an impact on me.
Shog9 wrote:
I haven't used PHP in a good long while
Well ya know, this begs the question... What are you using now and why? :-D
Jeremy Falcon A multithreaded, OpenGL-enabled application.[^]
-
Shog9 wrote:
I haven't used PHP in a good long while
Well ya know, this begs the question... What are you using now and why? :-D
Jeremy Falcon A multithreaded, OpenGL-enabled application.[^]
ASP and ASP.NET. And as much XSLT as i can manage. The ASP code is good, or at least as good as i can make it. It has to run on servers that can't run anything better. The ASP.NET code is a mixed bag to say the least; most of it is solid, but the DB code is utter crap, and will almost certainly come back to haunt me sooner rather than later. And yes, i think of the PHP / MySQL docs every time i look for help on some part of ADO.NET and come up empty... As to why... these are all for intranet sites, and it's just too much trouble getting a PHP server set up here. Correction: it's dead easy getting a PHP server set up; it's trouble getting someone else to maintain it...
-
ASP and ASP.NET. And as much XSLT as i can manage. The ASP code is good, or at least as good as i can make it. It has to run on servers that can't run anything better. The ASP.NET code is a mixed bag to say the least; most of it is solid, but the DB code is utter crap, and will almost certainly come back to haunt me sooner rather than later. And yes, i think of the PHP / MySQL docs every time i look for help on some part of ADO.NET and come up empty... As to why... these are all for intranet sites, and it's just too much trouble getting a PHP server set up here. Correction: it's dead easy getting a PHP server set up; it's trouble getting someone else to maintain it...
Shog9 wrote:
As to why... these are all for intranet sites, and it's just too much trouble getting a PHP server set up here. Correction: it's dead easy getting a PHP server set up; it's trouble getting someone else to maintain it...
I was trying to make sure I'm not missing out on something big is all. I know what you mean with this though, after all I did spend years doing classic VB development. :rolleyes:
Jeremy Falcon A multithreaded, OpenGL-enabled application.[^]
-
For the past couple of years I've been following the progress of the DotNetNuke community and for the most part I am very impressed with the progress and the professionalism of the community. However, from time to time I need to post a question in the forum and usually get a reply within a short period of time, but what I have found, and its very frustrating is that the comments or answers provided usually always tell you to look at the documentation. Looking at the documentation isn't such a bad thing and usually that’s where I start, but some of the documentation is like reading the memoirs’ of a scatter brain, kind of like trying to read the MSDN files, take the ClientAPI documentation within DNN for instance, just useless and I can never get a straight answer from the lead on that project ... always just "Look at the documentation...” So my question for the Code Project community is this: What’s your favorite, or what open source web community do you like and why, also include what its like getting help to questions when developing code for the application. Cheers, Xaverian
What we need is a patch for human stupidity
-
For the past couple of years I've been following the progress of the DotNetNuke community and for the most part I am very impressed with the progress and the professionalism of the community. However, from time to time I need to post a question in the forum and usually get a reply within a short period of time, but what I have found, and its very frustrating is that the comments or answers provided usually always tell you to look at the documentation. Looking at the documentation isn't such a bad thing and usually that’s where I start, but some of the documentation is like reading the memoirs’ of a scatter brain, kind of like trying to read the MSDN files, take the ClientAPI documentation within DNN for instance, just useless and I can never get a straight answer from the lead on that project ... always just "Look at the documentation...” So my question for the Code Project community is this: What’s your favorite, or what open source web community do you like and why, also include what its like getting help to questions when developing code for the application. Cheers, Xaverian
What we need is a patch for human stupidity
I have only just installed DNN, and I have yet to even find the documentation.
-
Amen! I'm kicking the tires on v.2 here on my IIS 6 server before installing it on my hosting provider. Now I have to find CP and evaluate it as well. I thought I had evaluated them all. Never thought of looking at what we use here which is damned good forum software. Fast, responsive, and nearly ideal for what I want to do (a navy online community).
-Bri "The most deadly words for an engineer. 'I have an idea.'"
-
My problem with DNN (and most open source projects) is that they clearly miss three things I want to know immediately: 1. where's the documentation 2. what platform(s) does it run on 3. where's the download page The number of convolutions to getting to the documentation download, the way important information like this runs only under PHP, and the number of clicks to get to the download page (if you can even find it) can sometimes be staggering and astounding. Marc
People are just notoriously impossible. --DavidCrow
There's NO excuse for not commenting your code. -- John Simmons / outlaw programmer
People who say that they will refactor their code later to make it "good" don't understand refactoring, nor the art and craft of programming. -- Josh SmithNot sure I follow Marc.. On the DotNetNuke.com site you simply click on "downloads" (the large downloads button) where you will find the source, install, documentation and even a description telling you the platforms on which it runs. The only negative is that you have to sign up for a free membership to download, but hey CP does that same :)
Rocky <>< Latest Code Blog Post: ASP.NET HttpException - Cannot use leading "..".. Latest Tech Blog Post: Enviromission - Solar power of the future?
-
I have only just installed DNN, and I have yet to even find the documentation.
Brady Kelly wrote:
I have yet to even find the documentation.
Well, if you downloaded DNN, it is in the list of files to download: * DotNetNuke 4.3.5 Source * DotNetNuke 4.3.5 Starter Kit * DotNetNuke 4.3.5 Upgrade * DotNetNuke 4.3.5 Docs <------ HERE :) * DotNetNuke 4.3.5 Install * DotNetNuke 4.3.5 Module Updated Wizard
Rocky <>< Latest Code Blog Post: ASP.NET HttpException - Cannot use leading "..".. Latest Tech Blog Post: Enviromission - Solar power of the future?
-
For the past couple of years I've been following the progress of the DotNetNuke community and for the most part I am very impressed with the progress and the professionalism of the community. However, from time to time I need to post a question in the forum and usually get a reply within a short period of time, but what I have found, and its very frustrating is that the comments or answers provided usually always tell you to look at the documentation. Looking at the documentation isn't such a bad thing and usually that’s where I start, but some of the documentation is like reading the memoirs’ of a scatter brain, kind of like trying to read the MSDN files, take the ClientAPI documentation within DNN for instance, just useless and I can never get a straight answer from the lead on that project ... always just "Look at the documentation...” So my question for the Code Project community is this: What’s your favorite, or what open source web community do you like and why, also include what its like getting help to questions when developing code for the application. Cheers, Xaverian
What we need is a patch for human stupidity
I think it is a common things in almost any online web development community to push people to the manuals. That happens often on CP when people tell you to Google for it or look it up in MSDN. Quite often on DNN though there are posts from people that should not even own a computer, who ask things that are obvious in the docs, but they do not take the time to read them of even look at one of the many DNN tutorial sites before posting, they do not even search the forums to see if it has been posted and answered before. People get a bit uptight after answer the same question 500 times when it is in bold print in the supplied documentation :) For me, I like the DNN community for one. I have been following them for a couple years now and it is a pretty good community. There are less helpful responses lately as many of the core members are working hard either on DNN or their day jobs. The ony other communities I am around often are usually commercial ones such as Channel 9, ASP.NET, etc.
Rocky <>< Latest Code Blog Post: ASP.NET HttpException - Cannot use leading "..".. Latest Tech Blog Post: Enviromission - Solar power of the future?
-
Not sure I follow Marc.. On the DotNetNuke.com site you simply click on "downloads" (the large downloads button) where you will find the source, install, documentation and even a description telling you the platforms on which it runs. The only negative is that you have to sign up for a free membership to download, but hey CP does that same :)
Rocky <>< Latest Code Blog Post: ASP.NET HttpException - Cannot use leading "..".. Latest Tech Blog Post: Enviromission - Solar power of the future?
Rocky Moore wrote:
On the DotNetNuke.com site you simply click on "downloads" (the large downloads button) where you will find the source, install, documentation and even a description telling you the platforms on which it runs.
The downloads button is only obvious for downloading. You have no idea the number of different menus I explored trying to find "documentation" or "installation guide". Download to me means, "download the app", not all that other stuff. Perhaps though, it's partly me that's not thinking right. :rolleyes: Marc
People are just notoriously impossible. --DavidCrow
There's NO excuse for not commenting your code. -- John Simmons / outlaw programmer
People who say that they will refactor their code later to make it "good" don't understand refactoring, nor the art and craft of programming. -- Josh Smith -
Amen! I'm kicking the tires on v.2 here on my IIS 6 server before installing it on my hosting provider. Now I have to find CP and evaluate it as well. I thought I had evaluated them all. Never thought of looking at what we use here which is damned good forum software. Fast, responsive, and nearly ideal for what I want to do (a navy online community).
-Bri "The most deadly words for an engineer. 'I have an idea.'"