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Re[2]: Programming Languages for Technical Communication
Subject:Re[2]: Programming Languages for Technical Communication From:Keith Arnett <Keith_Arnett -at- RESTON -dot- OMD -dot- STERLING -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 29 Jan 1998 10:44:34 EST
Apparently I have been living in the future for some time now
(unbeknownst to me)... ;-)
It seems to me that the WinHelp packages I have been designing for the
past few years fall into the category of "content management systems."
While it is true that converting/creating documentation for online
help systems requires a non-linear approach, I note that I did not
need any programming skills to prepare and compile WinHelp
deliverables.
I think the key issue here is simply individual adaptabilty--if you
perceive that you need a new skill to enhance your professional
abilities, then you should develop that skill. As one who began
writing copy on a typewriter in the '60s <bangs cane on floor for
emphasis>, and who is now publishing docs to the Internet, I feel that
I have been reasonably successful in this area.
If it appears that I need to learn a programming language as part of
my technical writer's toolbox, I will do so, but only when I am
completely convinced there is a significant reason to do it. The
cosmos tends to favor simplicity, and my own belief is that the
software tools I will use in the future will follow this trend.
Keith Arnett
Technical Writer/Reston Labs
Sterling Software, Inc./Operations Management Division
Reston VA USA
______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re: Programming Languages for Technical Communication
Author: Mark Baker <mbaker -at- omnimark -dot- com> at ~sydressmtp
Date: 1/29/98 10:01 AM
<< major snip >>
...Writers in the future are going to have to design the data structures of
content management systems and then write the information components that
populate those structures.
