Gathering support for an ocPortal book

Hello everyone,

First of all we do not have any current plans for an ocPortal book to be published but we are interested in any ideas you may have and whether you would buy one if there was one.

Currently we are just generating support for the idea as it maybe something we will look at in the near future, of course if anyone has any experience writing these type of books then of course we'd like to know that too.

Have a good day

That's a great idea i for one would definitely buy one as i prefer having a book reference than on screen tutorials, plus i can read through it on the train etc too……assuming i actually get a seat but that's another story

Ive been thinking same. I did print out most of manual, but it turned out very expensive decision overall, paper, ink and all(and that is for my printer, im sure peoples have "cheaper" printing costs with different printers)

If book is not too expensive, then it has definite place on my bookshelf

The book idea has some merit but as great as printed documentation and books go they are like software releases, out of date the moment they are published with updates needed shortly. Still, the Idea is good and I guess that just means more books! …and I would certainly buy them.

Perhaps "how to" books. I have read so many users experience in trying to work out common things that are useful to a lot of other users, things that many users have benefited from by following in those footsteps. Trouble is that it is 'a little here' and 'a little there' and you have to go out and look for it.

Many of the 'lessons' that have been placed in a more formal presentation format as the videos and tutorials have become incredibly useful. The whole video tutorials impressed me as soon as I saw them, these started to make made common tasks like 'replacing the header' much clearer and easier to comprehend, especially for the first time user.

I am still near enough to a know nothing, ocPortal newbie that I can see how a 'How to' line of lessons could keep a new user more on track with their website project goals and help short circuit discouraging experiences during the 'trauma' and subsequent panic sessions of 'uh oh', what have I done ..can this be fixed or undone? …or how in heck do I do this? moments.

We could all probably make a long list of little problems that we have read on these posts that stump new members. Things that we have long since solved or been helped with to find the solution or right code protocol. The more information available to users the better.

The "How to" series could have different levels. Doesn't have to be all 'simple' stuff.

Dragons Files said

I did print out most of manual

So did I and it was a pain. I think it must have cost me over a $100.00 but it was worth way more than that.

How about an e-book?

Hi,

i'm entirely with 'friendly' here. I've bought a lot of books on software over the years and found that they become more and more inaccurate with every release of the software itself. IMHO books only make sense if they are strictly for reference, e.g. HTML4, SQL, or cover industry standards like Illustrator.

I think OCP is far more dynamic featurewise to be covered by printed paper. So an online resource is the far better way to go. You folks did an incredible job writing the tutorials! Maybe there is a way to connect them into a complete, up-to-date and hyperlinked online (and downloadable) helpsystem?

Have a nice one,

Peter

A book would be a great idea backed up with an ebook that can be updated with the newer content which I would gladly pay a bit extra for, you can then add things like video help and a lot more.. A book that can be read on tablets and phones.

What do you think

I'd buy the book!  I much prefer readingh from a book than online however I don't mind using online to supplement for more uptodate info. A book though can help you get a solid foundation if it is written well. So far many of the tutorials here are good but some are also written more from someone with all the knowledge of the system as if they think the new person reading has most of that knowledge which they don't. I think some of the tutorials could be "dumbed down" a little to make getting the basics easier to grasp. For instance I've read the entire codebook but I am still a little confused about how the SQL operations work. You explain that you've created your own schema but not gone in depth enough how to properly work with it. Not that I can't figure it out studying code and reading more tuts but it just would have been nice to have an idiots guide somewhere for the more abstract parts. So if you do a book I think it should very well illustrate how OCP structure is setup works and interects while also walking one through development of a whole custom module from scratch with thorough explaination too. As I say if it even comes close to that I'd buy it!

Books are great as a reference (as already mentioned) but as a personal opinion I would have to say video tutorials are far much easier to follow.
Perhaps the combination of the two would be more benificial, a reference book and videos.
The problem with books is they can become quickly outdated. 
That's my two cents worth.

I think a good idea for an ebook could be the tutorials made book style in pdf format.

Most everything you would want or need to know is covered there. It just needs a little editing to present it more like a book and then convert it to pdf. Then print it and you also have a book you can hold in your hand.

Brian Hay said

I think a good idea for an ebook could be the tutorials made book style in pdf format.

Most everything you would want or need to know is covered there. It just needs a little editing to present it more like a book and then convert it to pdf. Then print it and you also have a book you can hold in your hand.

I agree with this except a book needs to have a glossary and a good index in addition to a table of contents. I like printed books s sometimes it just feels easier to follow complicated topics on paper rather then on screen. Maybe it's my ADHD.  :0

Bob

An eBook would be great.

I had published a few eBooks already and I could tell, eBooks need to be in various formats because of the different eBook Reader around.
I've also created an Guideline how to proper format eBooks, which is an very important part of it. PDF is fine for to read on computer and Laptops but the trend is going to Tablet Computer and even real eBook Reader.
To save time you first need to understand the different formats and how to handle them. And you need also to know the different devices and their OS's/Apps which would be used to read the eBooks.

Mainly you'll need 3 different Apps for to write and proper format a eBook and that 3 are available as Freeware.

If someone like to get more info, please feel free to contact me directly.

Providing a formal reference is a good idea. Even though printed material becomes obsolete, the target audience changes to match the evolution of the software. PDF and eBooks are easier to update and re-release with minimal costs. If CEDI were complete here, it would be a good reference. I'll be contributing to the docs as soon as I am comfortable with the app.

In fact, if someone could send me the source file for the pdf cookbook, I'll make the spelling/grammar corrections and send it back.

Steven Jarvis said

… of course if anyone has any experience writing these type of books then of course we'd like to know that too.

My profession in my previous life was that of a programmer, tech writer, and illustrator.

If you'd like to give some feedback via annotating the PDF we'd be happy. If I give you a copy of the odt and you take more than a few days to make changes, I'm afraid it will get out of sync quite fast.

I can help out there.. I have done many books and manuals etc in the past…  on various projects. Just let me know what you want.

The hard part is getting proof reading and making sure all the info is up to date withthe lates version.

We have put a lot of thought into this, so thank you to all of you who have posted in this topic.

What exactly would you find of most benefit? What should such a book cover?

a "For Dummy" format will be very marketable.
For all the docs online, i still cannot even figure out how to delete a forum i created in my site.

I can edit it, but no option to delete!

Such a powerful software, yet no option to delete a forum, wow!

If you look in the admin section - structure - Forum. Open a forum to be editing, scroll down to actions, here you can find to delete the forum.

jprieto said

a "For Dummy" format will be very marketable.
For all the docs online, i still cannot even figure out how to delete a forum i created in my site.

I can edit it, but no option to delete!

Such a powerful software, yet no option to delete a forum, wow!