Ask HN: Good open-source software documentation examples | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Good open-source software documentation examples

13 pointsoktomus8 comments

Hi !

I'm doing some research on how to improve/make appleseed[1] documentation. Appleseed is an open-source rendering software and we need both user and developer documentations such as: - Guide on how to use appleseed - Detailed docs on how appleseed is working - Developer documentation (API reference, contribution guide, getting started)

So if there is a documentation that you really like, please share it :)(whether it's about rendering or not, for user and/or for developers)

[1] https://github.com/appleseedhq/appleseed/

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I've poured a lot of time and effort into documenting my C++ TOML library, generally seeking to write the docs as I would wish to find them if I were a new user: https://marzer.github.io/tomlplusplus/

The docs are built using a spin-off of the documentation generator for the magnum graphics engine, which are themselves a really good documentation example: https://magnum.graphics/

I always recommend http://doc.qt.io/

btw, appleseed looks nice. I'm looking for a ray tracker that can render typical 720p indoor scene under 15 seconds. (similar to https://appleseedhq.net/img/renders/bedroom-2.jpg)

Can appleseed do that (this will need hardware acceleration I think)?

I also think qt doc is great.

Yes, appleseed can do that ! But it will be really noisy :D

Don't hesitate to come on appleseed's discord server if you need help.

Although it isn't perfect, I put a lot of effort into the docs for my game development framework at https://domeengine.com.

Make sure each document/page has a clear audience, and it's clear to the reader what that audience is, as well as where other audiences should go.

Nice work !

Here's the Wiki to my open source project, LINQ to Twitter:

https://github.com/JoeMayo/LinqToTwitter/wiki

Same qualifications at others - not perfect. :) I've been maintaining the docs for several years. When people seem to be confused about a particular subject or are asking questions in a certain area, it's an indication that I need to work on that area more. Over time, I've noticed a relationship where targeted improvements reduce my support requirements. Feedback is welcome.

Thanks for sharing !

I’ve been very impressed with the Django documentation.

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