docs/guides/onap-developer/how-to-use-docs/documentation-guide.rst - onap/doc - Gitiles

 .. 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
 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.

 Much of the content in this document is derived from similar
 documentation processes used in other Linux Foundation
 Projects including OPNFV and Open Daylight.


 End to End View
 ---------------
 ONAP documentation is stored in git repositories, changes are managed
 with gerrit reviews, and published documents generated when there is a
 change in any source used to build the documentation.

 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
 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:

 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.

 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)

 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.

 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.

 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 doc team encourages component teams to store as much documentation
 as reStructuredText as possible because:

 1. It is easier to edit component documentation for grammar,
    spelling, clarity, and consistency.

 2. A consistent formatting syntax across components will allow
    flexibility in producing different kinds of output.

 3. It is easier to re-organize the documentation.

 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 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/
     ├── 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 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
 files:

 .. code-block:: bash

  .. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
  .. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
  .. Copyright YEAR ONAP or COMPANY or INDIVIDUAL

  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.
	.. 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
	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.

	Much of the content in this document is derived from similar
	documentation processes used in other Linux Foundation
	Projects including OPNFV and Open Daylight.


	End to End View
	---------------
	ONAP documentation is stored in git repositories, changes are managed
	with gerrit reviews, and published documents generated when there is a
	change in any source used to build the documentation.

	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
	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:

	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.

	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)

	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.

	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.

	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 doc team encourages component teams to store as much documentation
	as reStructuredText as possible because:

	1. It is easier to edit component documentation for grammar,
	spelling, clarity, and consistency.

	2. A consistent formatting syntax across components will allow
	flexibility in producing different kinds of output.

	3. It is easier to re-organize the documentation.

	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 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/
	├── 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 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
	files:

	.. code-block:: bash

	.. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
	.. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
	.. Copyright YEAR ONAP or COMPANY or INDIVIDUAL

	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.