DocBook Editor Feature

= Feature Name =

DocBook Editor

Summary
A WYSIWYG DocBook Editor

Owner

 * Name: Satya Komaragiri
 * email: satya[DOT]komaragiri[AT]gmail[DOT]com

Current status

 * Targeted release:  Fedora 12
 * Last updated: 2009-06-01
 * Percentage of completion: 5%
 * Minimal tag-set can be found at DocBook_Editor
 * XSL is being created.

Detailed Description
This feature aims at implementing a WYSIWYG editor for DocBook XML that Fedora uses to author/maintain its documentation. The richness of DocBook can often overwhelm new users. An easy to use tool will attract new contributors and will also provide a convenient alternative to those who are old-timers.The editor will be developed as a plug-in for Beacon, an XSLT based plug-able editor. The editor can be used as a stand-alone application or can be integrated with Zikula and Publican.

Benefit to Fedora
It has following benefits:
 * It enables new users to contribute documentation more easily without having to learn DocBook Format.
 * It can be used just like any other desktop editor by people to generate documentation for their own purposes.
 * It can be used as a tool to learn documentation formats by the WYSIWYG approach. This is similar to Do-It-Yourself learning methods as the changes made in the design view can be correlated to the changes introduced in the XML source view.
 * It will be integrated into Zikula CMS which will be used by Fedora to manage their content. This will make it easier to publish content.

Scope
This is being started as a Google Summer of Code Project (http://socghop.appspot.com/student_project/show/google/gsoc2009/redhat/t124024692194). It will be useable (Ready for consumption) by the end of GSoC period. It is not a big change to the distribution and is more of an isolated end-user product just like any other text editor. It basically involves deploying the DocBook Plug-in along with Beacon as a package so it can be installed/uninstalled by the user.

How To Test
They will notice an editor available to them that allows them to publish documents in DocBook and/or other formats (supported by Beacon plug-ins). The benefits to end-user are given in the 'Benefits to Fedora' section.

Dependencies
Beacon has minimal dependencies. PHP 5 is the basic requirement which is quite stable. The upstream project is willing to help in deploying it for multiple distributions.

Contingency Plan
No other parts of Fedora will be affected by it. It is a web application with minimal or no implications on other parts of Fedora. It is a standalone tool.

Documentation
Documentation is available at DocBook_Editor_Documentation

Release Notes
Fedora 12 ships with Beacon, a WYSWIG editor for Docbook that enables Documentation writers to write documentation for Fedora with minimal Docbook experience.

Comments and Discussion

 * See Talk:Features/DocBookEditor
 * Discussion on the fedora docs list: https://www.redhat.com/archives/fedora-docs-list/2009-March/msg00077.html
 * Discussion on Redhat Summer group: http://groups.google.com/group/redhat-summer/browse_thread/thread/73d39120e5aa6ffc