OpenSource documentation problems

[Roel Schroeven]

Adriaan Renting wrote:

> In my Windows days I realy liked the Borland documentation, it was 
> way better as the Visual Studio/MSDev docs. Borland C++Builder used 
> to come with a complete rewrite of the Win32 API docs, next to the 
> docs of it's own API.

Yes, but the two are completely separate. If you press F1 on a
misspelled function, it doesn't find the function in its Win32 section
and opens its Borland section, even though it's not there either. You
have to manually open the Win32 help in that case if that's what you
need (e.g. if you don't know the exact name of the function you're
looking for). And I think MSDN is more detailed; I almost always use
MSDN instead of Builder's builtin Win32 help. I also think that 
Borland's documentation on general (e.g. STL) and Borland-specific (e.g. 
__property) C++-language topics isn't as good as it should and could be.

> One of the things I realy liked about C++Builder, and haven't found
> anywhere else*, is that if you push F1 anywhere in your code, it will
> pop up the help of whatever object/class/function/lib your cursor is
> sitting on.

I've been doing that in Visual Studio since the first version I used, 
which was 5 IIRC.

> No need to hunt google or some awkward CD search, just
> press F1 when you don't remember exactly how to call
> SetModemParams(). (*I'm not current with the latest MS and Borland
> offerings)

What I've always done with MSDN: copy the whole thing from CD to HD, and 
do a minimal install from there. Then the help application can find 
everything without asking for the CDs.


-- 
If I have been able to see further, it was only because I stood
on the shoulders of giants.  -- Isaac Newton

Roel Schroeven