On Tue, 2008-04-29 at 07:35 -0600, Clint Savage wrote:

On Tue, Apr 29, 2008 at 12:12 AM, Karsten 'quaid' Wade kwade@redhat.com wrote: An answer for a question from IRC:

    18:18 < subdivisions> hey all... anyone here know the best way
    to do editing/authoring
                         offline?  I have approx 2.5 hours a day
    on the train and I can't
                         really get a cell signal.
    18:18 < subdivisions> I can cut-andpaste from and back to the
    wiwki, but that seems a bit
                         crude.

    Keith, let me introduce you to DocBook XML.

    http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/DocsProject/Tools#DocBook_XML
    http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/DocsProject/WorkFlow#Wiki_to_DocBook_XML

    What you need for the train is the following:

    * Checkout one or more guides to work on:
     Installation Guide
     Software Management Guide
     Security Guide (needs conversion)
     or ...
    * Obtain XML output from the wiki ready for conversion
    * Check out the build system/toolchain for Fedora Docs, and/or
    * Install 'publican' (candidate for inclusion in toolchain)
    * Optional virtualization instance to do install testing or
    other
    technical edits/writing

    You have everything you need in a Fedora install with the
    "Authoring and
    Publishing" group installed.

    While you are offline, keep notes about any troubles you
    have.  Maybe
    write them as a blog entry to post when you get to your
    destination.
    Writing about your learning process and experience as a new
    contributor
    could bring some value and definitely interest.

    Just a few ideas off the top of my head. :)

    - Karsten
    --

Another suggestion to add to this conversation is to consider the fact that internet access is unavailable. In this case, committing changes back to cvs is impossible because of its centralized nature, in comes git. With git-cvsimport you can save your changes in a repository, and commit as much as necessary and are able to retain your history. Once back to the more civilized world, one can do a git rebase --interactive, squash all of the commits to one (making a nice log message) and run git-cvsexportcommit after creating a patch and setting some variables.

Here's a good resource on how one might use git to keep revision history and allowing simple roll-back

http://issaris.blogspot.com/2005/11/cvs-to-git-and-back.html

git has pretty much become the de facto standard for new projects in and around Fedora. I don't think it's a stretch to say this is going to be the next $SCM, although I have no opinion (or insight) about it in any official way. Thanks for this really helpful information on how to use what little I've learned of git and apply it to our decrepit^Wtrusty ol' CVS. :-)

I used cut-and-paste today, but I just installed "itsalltext" and it works really well. I can't seem to get it working with gvim/vi, but it is working with gedit so I'm good to go for tomorrow.

Thanks!

On Tue, Apr 29, 2008 at 5:38 PM, Karsten 'quaid' Wade kwade@redhat.com wrote:

On Mon, 2008-04-28 at 23:12 -0700, Karsten 'quaid' Wade wrote:

...

An answer for a question from IRC:

18:18 < subdivisions> hey all... anyone here know the best way to do editing/authoring offline? I have approx 2.5 hours a day on the train and I can't really get a cell signal. 18:18 < subdivisions> I can cut-andpaste from and back to the wiwki, but that seems a bit crude.

There is one option for the wiki I forgot. Like this:

1. Install 'itsalltext' extension:

https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4125

• This extension adds a button that lets you open the contents of an

HTML edit window (a TEXTAREA) in your favorite editor.

• Saves happen to a temporary file and update the wiki edit window in

Firefox

2. Pick some chapters you are going to work on.

3. Email the list/alert IRC that you are putting a few hour 'lock' on

those files, so no one else edits them

• There is a warning put up when you edit a file in the wiki, but the

lock may expire before you return

4. Load the pages and edit them, then use the Edit button from It's All

Text! to load the pages for offline editing.

• You cannot preview changes while offline

5. Later versions of It's All Text! support keeping the same temporary

filename for the same original URL. This means when you return to be online, even if you have to reload and re-edit the original page, you should be able to save within your editor, and the edit window in Firefox updates.

• If this does not work, yes, you still have manual cut and paste

Now that I write it all out, it sounds hokey and hacky and stupid, but it does work. :)

• Karsten

...

Keith, let me introduce you to DocBook XML.

http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/DocsProject/Tools#DocBook_XML http://fedoraproject.org/wiki/DocsProject/WorkFlow#Wiki_to_DocBook_XML

What you need for the train is the following:

• Checkout one or more guides to work on: Installation Guide Software Management Guide Security Guide (needs conversion) or ...
• Obtain XML output from the wiki ready for conversion
• Check out the build system/toolchain for Fedora Docs, and/or
• Install 'publican' (candidate for inclusion in toolchain)
• Optional virtualization instance to do install testing or other

technical edits/writing

You have everything you need in a Fedora install with the "Authoring and Publishing" group installed.

While you are offline, keep notes about any troubles you have. Maybe write them as a blog entry to post when you get to your destination. Writing about your learning process and experience as a new contributor could bring some value and definitely interest.

Just a few ideas off the top of my head. :)

• Karsten

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-- Karsten Wade, Sr. Developer Community Mgr. Dev Fu : http://developer.redhatmagazine.com Fedora : http://quaid.fedorapeople.org gpg key : AD0E0C41

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