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CRDSS <br />TASK MEMORANDUM 1.05-12 <br />System Integration Issues <br />Documentation - On-line Documentation System <br />1.0 ISSUE <br />The development of a documentation system where text and graphics can be displayed in on-line and <br />in hard-copy form is an important part of the CRDSS. For ease of maintenance, it is desirable that <br />only one source of the documentation is developed (not one source for hard-copy and one source for <br />on-line). If possible, a hypertext system should be developed in which the starting point of the <br />documentation can be selected. (?Hypertext? is text that contains links to other relevant text, which <br />can be viewed by selecting the highlighted text indicating the link.) For example, for a specific <br />application or window, the user would want to start at a point relevant to that display. However, for <br />the main CRDSS menu, the user would want a general lead-in page. Additionally, the <br />documentation should be able to be incorporated into a stand-alone application (a generic document <br />viewer) and applications such as a widget or a spawned process. (A widget is a graphical <br />programming object that has graphical attributes [e.g., font, color] and event-handling intelligence <br />such that a change in the widget's state [e.g., a button press] can be reacted to in other code. A <br />spawned process occurs when one program executes another program.) <br />This memorandum discusses methods of delivering an on-line documentation system for the CRDSS <br />relevant to the following issues: <br />What software products will be used to provide on-line documentation for the CRDSS and <br />? <br />how were they chosen? <br />Mosaic <br />How will documents within the file structure be organized? In what form and to <br />? <br />what extent will such documentation be implemented? Who will be responsible for <br />implementing the documentation? How will documentation be distributed? <br />How will UNIX man pages be implemented? Who will be responsible for implementing <br />? <br />the documentation? How will man pages be distributed? <br />How is documentation for software to be archived? How will documentation be made <br />? <br />available? <br />2.0 DISCUSSION/ANALYSIS <br />Evaluation of On-line Documentation Software <br />The inventory of software considered for on-line documentation included: <br />man <br />UNIX man pages and the command. This documentation format is fairly standard <br />? <br />between UNIX platforms. RTi has written a program that displays man pages on a PC and <br />regularly uses man pages to document programs and library routines. The bonuses are that <br />man <br />the UNIX command can display information, and many systems have software to <br />1 <br />A275 06.29.94 1.05-12 Malers <br />