Dlang.org needs a "Getting Started" page

[Xinok]

On 1/31/2012 11:47 AM, Jesse Phillips wrote:
> As I mentioned I think this list is too much for one page, it is just
> overwhelming.

It doesn't have to be a wall of text. If done right, it would be a 
well-structured page split up into sections which is easy to navigate 
and find the information one would want.

Something I didn't make clear, I think it's okay to provide links to 
other pages (in moderation, let's not just have a page full of links), 
as long as those pages aren't out of date.

>> - Explanation of D 1.x, D 2.x, Phobos, and Tango.
>
> This would be nice, but it too easy to be bias in describing the
> situation, especially since it exists only for D 1.x which is being
> phased out.

I don't see how it would be biased. Phobos is the official standard 
library, Tango is a third-party standard library which is for D 1.x 
only. D 2.x is the latest version while D 1.x is being phased out and 
will be maintained until the end of 2012.

>> - Explanation and links to different compilers (DMD, GDC, etc)
>
> There are links found when you select Tools & Downloads.

It doesn't provide any explanation though. The information is scattered 
everywhere, you have to go hunting for it which only adds to the confusion.

>> - List of IDEs / Editors that support D
>
> This list is overwhelming, subjective, and a link is provided to Wiki4D
> from Tools & Downloads.

As I mentioned above, I think it's okay to provide a link rather than 
having a large list. Perhaps it would be best to list a few popular 
editors (DDT, VisualD) and provide that link for the rest.

>> - Tutorial: Writing and compiling a program in D
>
> There is a link to the Tutorial chapter of "The D Programming Language"
> under Documentation.

Once again, information is scattered and you have to go looking for it. 
There's also other learning materials for D which aren't linked to 
anywhere AFAIK.

>> - Books / Websites / Resources for learning D
>
> Under Community there is a Links link, that is not well maintained.
 >
>> - Libraries for D (e.g. dsource.org)
>
> Under Links.

The list is very out of date, and "links" at the bottom of the page is 
not an obvious place to look for this information.

>> - Forums / Newsgroups / Newsgroup clients + instructions for configuring
>
> Community contains a link for Forms, or actually the Newsgroups and
> provides the web interface for those not setting up a client. Yes this
> needs updated and DFeed needs to move to d-programming-language.org.
>
>> Most importantly, maintain this page! Never let it get out of date!
>
> No, update the pages that exist, and keep them up to date.

Ideally, the website would be maintained and easier to navigate. 
However, it doesn't seem to be a high priority or else it would be done 
already. At least this way, it's a single page which could be put up in 
less than a day and is little effort to maintain. It's an obvious place 
to look as well ("Getting Started", who wouldn't look there first?).

This page would serve as a single entry point which would help newcomers:

- Download and install the compiler
- Download / Configure an IDE or Editor
- Write and Compile their first program
- Find learning materials
- Find resources such as libraries and debuggers
- Get them involved in the community
- Participate in the development of D

That sounds worth it to me.