-.. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
-
+.. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
+.. International License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
+.. Copyright 2017 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved.
Introduction
============
This guide describes how to create documentation for the Open Network
-Automation Platform (ONAP). ONAP projects create a variety of
-content depending on the nature of the project. For example projects delivering
-a platform component may have different types of content than
+Automation Platform (ONAP). ONAP projects create a variety of
+content depending on the nature of the project. For example projects
+delivering a platform component may have different types of content than
a project that creates libraries for a software development kit.
-The content from each project may be used together as a reference for that project
-and/or be used in documents are tailored to a specific user audience and
-task they are performing.
+The content from each project may be used together as a reference for
+that project and/or be used in documents are tailored to a specific
+user audience and task they are performing.
-Much of the content in this document is derived from similar
-documentation processes used in other Linux Foundation
+Much of the content in this document is derived from similar
+documentation processes used in other Linux Foundation
Projects including OPNFV and Open Daylight.
Authors create source for documents in reStructured Text (RST) that is
rendered to HTML and PDF and published on Readthedocs.io.
-The developer Wiki or other web sites can reference these rendered
+The developer Wiki or other web sites can reference these rendered
documents directly allowing projects to easily maintain current release
documentation.
Why reStructuredText/Sphinx?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-In the past, standard documentation methods included ad-hoc Word documents, PDFs,
-poorly organized Wikis, and other, often closed, tools like Adobe FrameMaker.
-The rise of DevOps, Agile, and Continuous Integration, however, created a paradigm
-shift for those who care about documentation because:
+In the past, standard documentation methods included ad-hoc Word documents,
+PDFs, poorly organized Wikis, and other, often closed, tools like
+Adobe FrameMaker. The rise of DevOps, Agile, and Continuous Integration,
+however, created a paradigm shift for those who care about documentation
+because:
-1. Documentation must be tightly coupled with code/product releases. In many cases,
-particularly with open-source products, many different versions of the same code
-can be installed in various production environments. DevOps personnel must have
-access to the correct version of documentation.
+1. Documentation must be tightly coupled with code/product releases.
+ In many cases, particularly with open-source products, many different
+ versions of the same code can be installed in various production
+ environments. DevOps personnel must have access to the correct version
+ of documentation.
2. Resources are often tight, volunteers scarce. With a large software base
-like ONAP, a small team of technical writers, even if they are also developers,
-cannot keep up with a constantly changing, large code base. Therefore, those closest
-to the code should document it as best they can, and let professional writers edit for
-style, grammar, and consistency.
+ like ONAP, a small team of technical writers, even if they are also
+ developers, cannot keep up with a constantly changing, large code base.
+ Therefore, those closest to the code should document it as best they can,
+ and let professional writers edit for style, grammar, and consistency.
-Plain-text formatting syntaxes, such as reStructuredText, Markdown, and Textile,
-are a good choice for documentation because:
+Plain-text formatting syntaxes, such as reStructuredText, Markdown,
+and Textile, are a good choice for documentation because:
a. They are editor agnostic
+
b. The source is nearly as easy to read as the rendered text
+
c. Documentation can be treated exactly as source code is (e.g. versioned,
- diff'ed, associated with commit messages that can be included in rendered docs)
+ diff'ed, associated with commit messages that can be included
+ in rendered docs)
+
d. Shallow learning curve
-The documentation team chose reStructuredText largely because of Sphinx, a Python-based
-documentation build system, which uses reStructuredText natively. In a code base
-as large as ONAP's, cross-referencing between component documentation was deemed
-critical. Sphinx and reStructuredText have built-in functionality that makes
-collating and cross-referencing component documentation easier.
+The documentation team chose reStructuredText largely because of Sphinx,
+a Python-based documentation build system, which uses reStructuredText
+natively. In a code base as large as ONAP's, cross-referencing between
+component documentation was deemed critical. Sphinx and reStructuredText
+have built-in functionality that makes collating and cross-referencing
+component documentation easier.
Which docs should go where?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
-Frequently, developers ask where documentation should be created. Should they always use
-reStructuredText/Sphinx? Not necessarily. Is the wiki appropriate for anything at all? Yes.
+Frequently, developers ask where documentation should be created. Should
+they always use reStructuredText/Sphinx? Not necessarily. Is the wiki
+appropriate for anything at all? Yes.
It's really up to the development team. Here is a simple rule:
-The more tightly coupled the documentation is to a particular version of the code,
-the more likely it is that it should be stored with the code in reStructuredText.
+The more tightly coupled the documentation is to a particular version
+of the code, the more likely it is that it should be stored with the
+code in reStructuredText.
-Two examples on opposite ends of the spectrum:
+The doc team encourages component teams to store as much documentation
+as reStructuredText as possible because:
-Example 1: API documentation is often stored literally as code in the form of formatted
-comment sections. This would be an ideal choice for reStructuredText stored in a doc repo.
+1. It is easier to edit component documentation for grammar,
+ spelling, clarity, and consistency.
-Example 2: A high-level document that describes in general how a particular component interacts
-with other ONAP components with charts. The wiki would be a better choice for this.
+2. A consistent formatting syntax across components will allow
+ flexibility in producing different kinds of output.
-The doc team encourages component teams to store as much documentation as reStructuredText
-as possible because:
+3. It is easier to re-organize the documentation.
-1. The doc team can more easily edit component documentation for grammar, spelling, clarity, and consistency.
-2. A consistent formatting syntax across components will allow the doc team more flexibility in producing different kinds of output.
-3. The doc team can easily re-organize the documentation.
-4. Wiki articles tend to grow stale over time as the people who write them change positions or projects.
+4. Wiki articles tend to grow in size and not maintained making it hard
+ to find current information.
Structure
---------
-A top level master document structure is used to organize all
-documents for an ONAP release and this resides in the gerrit doc repository.
-Complete documents or guides may reside here and reference parts of
-source for documentation from other project repositories
-A starting structure is shown below and may change as content is
-integrated for each release. Other ONAP projects will provide
-content that is referenced from this structure.
-
-
+A top level master document structure is used to organize all
+documents created by ONAP projects and this resides in the gerrit doc
+repository. Complete documents or guides may reside here and
+reference parts of source for documentation from other project
+repositories. Other ONAP projects will provide content that
+is referenced from this structure.
::
- docs/
- ├── releases
- │ ├── major releases
- │ ├── projects
- │ ├── cryptographic signatures
- │ └── references
- ├── onap-developer
- │ ├── architecture
- │ ├── tutorials
- │ ├── setting up
- │ ├── developing
- │ └── documenting
- └── onap-users
- ├── vf provider
- ├── service designer
- ├── service administrator
- └── platform administrator
-
+ docs/
+ ├── guides
+ │ ├── onap-developer
+ │ │ ├── apiref
+ │ │ ├── architecture
+ │ │ ├── developing
+ │ │ ├── how-to-use-docs
+ │ │ ├── settingup
+ │ │ └── tutorials
+ │ └── onap-user
+ │ ├── onap-portal
+ │ ├── platform operations
+ │ ├── service design
+ │ ├── service deployment
+ │ ├── vnf provider
+ │ └── vnf certifier
+ ├── release
+ ├── templates
+ │ ├── collections
+ │ └── sections
+ └── use-cases
Source Files
------------
-All documentation for a project should be structured and stored
+All documentation for project repositories should be structured and stored
in or below `<your_project_repo>/docs/` directory as Restructured Text.
ONAP jenkins jobs that verify and merge documentation are triggered by
RST file changes in the top level docs directory and below.
-
-
Licensing
---------
All contributions to the ONAP project are done in accordance with the
ONAP licensing requirements. Documentation in ONAP is contributed
in accordance with the `Creative Commons 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/>`_ license.
-All documentation files need to be licensed using the text below.
-The license may be applied in the first lines of all contributed RST
+All documentation files need to be licensed using the text below.
+The license may be applied in the first lines of all contributed RST
files:
.. code-block:: bash
These lines will not be rendered in the html and pdf files.
-When there are subsequent, significant contributions to a source file from a different contributor,
-a new copyright line may be appended after the last existing copyright line.
+When there are subsequent, significant contributions to a source file
+from a different contributor, a new copyright line may be appended
+after the last existing copyright line.
Code Review / doc.git / blobdiff