newcomer-friendly doc [was: Re: std.xml should just go]

[spir]

On 02/04/2011 06:30 PM, Andrej Mitrovic wrote:
> On 2/4/11, spir<denis.spir at gmail.com>  wrote:
>>
>> About that, I would love a tutorial about eponymous templates starting with
>> their /purpose/ (why does this feature even exist? what does it /mean/? what
>> does it compare/oppose to? why is one supposed to need/enjoy it? how is it
>> supposed to help&  make code better mirror model?) Same for alias template
>> params. Same for a rather long list of features, probably.
>>
>
> But both of these are already explained in the manual:
> http://www.digitalmars.com/d/2.0/template.html (search for Implicit
> Template Properties)
> http://www.digitalmars.com/d/2.0/template.html (search for Template
> Alias Parameters)

I've read this thrice ;-) Precisely, this doc is nice & rather good; but, for 
me, doesn't answer the /base/ question. You'll find there what you need if you 
already have an idea on what you're supposed to need it for. Reason why I chose 
these example, precisely... but there are tons of parts of D2 that would 
benefit of a good introduction, really starting from the base (and not 
implicitely assuming 10 years of C++ programming --esp. about vocabulary: 
people here don't seem to realise how much words they use everyday can be 
misleading coming from != background, or even not be used elsewhere in 
programming).

> Granted, eponymous templates aren't explained in much detail on that page.
> As for explaining how they work together, I did write that short
> template tutorial
> (http://prowiki.org/wiki4d/wiki.cgi?D__Tutorial/D2Templates), but
> you've already seen that. :)

Yop, thanks for that.

> However, I do not think we should write tutorials on single features
> alone. I've read a bunch of books that explain the language in
> feature-by-feature basis, but neglect to tie everything together. For
> example, "Learning Python" is this 1200 page book about Python 3,
> explaining the language feature by feature but never really discussing
> the language as a whole. It's only good as a reference, which
> ironically defeats the book's title. OTOH "Dive into Python 3"
> gradually introduces you to more features of the language, but always
> has code examples where you can see multiple features of the language
> being used. (IIRC there were string processing examples which used
> regex, multiple modules, and unittests all at once).
>
> Having a perspective on how all features tie together is crucial to
> understanding the purpose of individual features themselves. In my
> opinion!

I do agree. I also miss a great picture of D2, and even more of Phobos2 ('s 
future overall design). But aren't both necessary? If one doesn't get a given 
feature's purpose, how can it find its place meaningfully in the great picture?

Denis
-- 
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spir.wikidot.com