Symphony.

Lewis -

How is the Symphony 2 documentation coming along? Will it be released in stages? Or will it be released when the final product is available? I know at least for me, I'm trying to get my head around the new features like External XML, etc. The thing is I don't know if I'm approaching it correctly or not. I know the documentation would help clear that up. Also, do you know if Allen, Alistair, Scott, Dru, or anyone else will be releasing some screencasts for Symphony 2. The ones for Symphony 1.7 were quite helpful and really helped me learn 1.7.

Thanks for all of your hard work on the documentation! You are amazing!

Documentation is coming along nicely. The document requires that it exists in its entirety, in my opinion. As such, I will not release it until it is done.

My intention is to release it towards the end of the beta so that it reflects the public released Symphony. During this time I will be quick to make changes and corrections based on feedback from the community.

The User Guide that I'm working on will cover everything except for the Extension API. I'm going to work with Alistair on this one. It will be a separate document but it will share the same format.

The User Guide will be released prior to the Extension API.

Also, do you know if Allen, Alistair, Scott, Dru, or anyone else will be releasing some screencasts for Symphony 2.

Yes, I'm fairly certain they will be creating some more screencasts. I would do it myself but I'm too slow on the computer (and use voice recognition) so it's tough to do those two things at once. And, Australian accents rock!

Thanks Lewis!

Is it taboo to ask how close we are to having documentation released?

I'm coming to Symphony 2 after cutting my teeth on Symphony 1.7 a few months back and am a bit thrown by some of the new ways of doing things.

So I'd love to know how far down the line documentation is, roughly speaking of course. Otherwise I might have to revert to 1.7, so that I can climb back on the learning curve closer to where I left it.

I doubt the documentation is close, since there are still some big changes in store for Rev6. But if you have particular questions, I'm sure you could get them answered here or on IRC...

I should clarify that I am not writing documentation for the beta. I am writing it for the final product, Symphony 2.

I feel the hardest part about documentation is done, whereby I have settled on a method of organizing. The templating portion of the documentation is just about complete, while other chapters are scarce because they rely too much on detailing the interface and features.

It's going to be a comprehensive guide and I can do without re-writes from one beta revision to the next.

Of course, you're absolutely right. I'm not quite sure what I was thinking - probably wasn't - as publishing documentation during beta testing is clearly an absurd idea.

Is it possible then to say how much longer the beta testing period will last? Probably not, I know, but I had to ask :)

Having thought about it overnight, I'll probably go back to 1.7 until the final release and docs are available. After all, 1.7 remains an awesome product and unfortunately I'm still that new to Symphony that I need all the support material.

...since there are still some big changes in store for Rev6...

Craig,

Could you briefly list the bigger changes forthcoming or point to where this info is?

Thanks! Clayton

It isn't consolidated anywhere... I'm just basing that statement on accrued knowledge from the forums and IRC.

I believe there's a change in store as far as section links are concerned, as referenced here and here.

This is another change that's coming, though not as big.

Thanks Craig. Up the learning curve, I steadfastly tread ;)

Lewis, are you going to be publishing it 37Signals style?

Lewis, are you going to be publishing it 37Signals style?

What's 37Signals style?

Well they self-published a book called Getting Real.

http://gettingreal.37signals.com/

Its primary format is a PDF but I will consider other options at a later point.

Yeah, but I love books, they smell nicer.