how to write a tutorial

[Xah Lee]

i've started to read python tutorial recently.
http://python.org/doc/2.3.4/tut/tut.html

Here are some quick critique:

quick example:
If the input string is too long, they don't truncate it, but return it
unchanged; this will mess up your column lay-out but that's usually
better than the alternative, which would be lying about a value. (If
you really want truncation you can always add a slice operation, as in
"x.ljust( n)[:n]".

better:
If the input string is too long, they don't truncate it, but return it
unchanged;
-----------------
delete: Reverse quotes (``) are equivalent to repr(), but their use is
discouraged.
-----------------
similarly, many places mentioning uncritical info such as warning or
reference to other languages should be deleted.

the tutorial should be simple, concise, to the point, stand along.
Perhaps 1/5th length of the tutorial should be deleted for better.
Follow the above principles.

at places often a whole paragraph on some so called computer science
jargons should be deleted. They are there more to showcase inane
technicality than do help the reader. (related, many passages with
jargons should be rewritten sans inane jargon. e.g. mutable object.)

one easy way to understand these principles is to compare perl's
documentation or unix man pages to Python's. The formers are often
irrelevant, rambling on, not stand-along (it is written such that it
unnecessarily requires the reader to be knowledgable of lots of other
things). Python docs are much better, but like many computer language
manuals, also suffers from verbiage of tech jargons. (these jargons or
passages about them are usually there to please the authors
themselves).

A exemplary writing in this direction is the Mathematica manual by
Stephen Wolfram. Any intelligent layman sans computer science degree
can read it straightforwardly, and learn unhindered a language that is
tantamount to features of lisp languages. Such documentation is not
difficult to write at all. (contrary to the lot of "computer
scientists" or IT pundits morons.) All it take is some simple
principles outlined above.
Xah
 xah at xahlee.org
 http://xahlee.org/PageTwo_dir/more.html