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Posted to dev@velocity.apache.org by "Henning P. Schmiedehausen" <hp...@intermeta.de> on 2006/12/12 08:23:25 UTC
Velocity Site - Preview
[Hm. I could have sworn I've sent this out already. Seems it never
made it]
To let you know what I've been busy over the weekend: I've been
wrestling with maven 2 and site building. A preview of where I intent
to go is currently visible at http://velocity.apache.org/staging/
Comments, Criticism, Help, Patches wanted. Most of that is already in
the site svn; I've created a custom skin for the site, that is not yet
there.
Best regards
Henning
--
Henning P. Schmiedehausen -- hps@intermeta.de | J2EE, Linux,
91054 Buckenhof, Germany -- +49 9131 506540 | Apache person
Open Source Consulting, Development, Design | Velocity - Turbine guy
"Save the cheerleader. Save the world."
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Re: Velocity Site - Preview
Posted by Nathan Bubna <nb...@gmail.com>.
I like the direction this is heading, especially as laid out here:
http://wiki.apache.org/jakarta-velocity/VelocitySite
I'll help with the Tools docs at least. But it might be a week or so.
I've gotta get some other work done first.
On 12/11/06, Henning P. Schmiedehausen <hp...@intermeta.de> wrote:
> [Hm. I could have sworn I've sent this out already. Seems it never
> made it]
>
> To let you know what I've been busy over the weekend: I've been
> wrestling with maven 2 and site building. A preview of where I intent
> to go is currently visible at http://velocity.apache.org/staging/
>
> Comments, Criticism, Help, Patches wanted. Most of that is already in
> the site svn; I've created a custom skin for the site, that is not yet
> there.
>
> Best regards
> Henning
>
>
> --
> Henning P. Schmiedehausen -- hps@intermeta.de | J2EE, Linux,
> 91054 Buckenhof, Germany -- +49 9131 506540 | Apache person
> Open Source Consulting, Development, Design | Velocity - Turbine guy
>
> "Save the cheerleader. Save the world."
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: dev-unsubscribe@velocity.apache.org
> For additional commands, e-mail: dev-help@velocity.apache.org
>
>
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: dev-unsubscribe@velocity.apache.org
For additional commands, e-mail: dev-help@velocity.apache.org
Re: Velocity Site - Preview
Posted by Will Glass-Husain <wg...@forio.com>.
Great idea!
> I also think it would be good to have a link right above
> or below it that quickly tells how to use Velocity outside a webapp.
> The title of this would probably depend on the examples created for
> it. Which, by the way, i'm not sure we have any good, simple,
> easy-to-get-started-with, examples of this. Maybe i'll take a shot at
> that before 1.5 goes final.
It's be nice to have a quick tutorial on...
* sending email
* generating arbitrary text files from an app
* transforming an XML file with Anakia
WILL
On 12/18/06, Nathan Bubna <nb...@gmail.com> wrote:
> First, general thoughts....
>
> I would like to see our web site reflect our charter in the sense that
> the Velocity Engine is always prominent and pre-eminent. It is a
> requirement that the other subprojects be dependent on that "core"
> center pole, otherwise the umbrella will become a mere sack. I'm not
> sure how best to represent this on our front page, but i think it is
> important that that be the case. Apart from this emphasis, i
> generally agree with Henning's thoughts on the front page.
>
> Regarding "Velocity in a webapp"...
>
> I like having a front page link to this guide. Like Will, it feels
> like there have been fewer simplistic questions on this since we added
> that page. I also think it would be good to have a link right above
> or below it that quickly tells how to use Velocity outside a webapp.
> The title of this would probably depend on the examples created for
> it. Which, by the way, i'm not sure we have any good, simple,
> easy-to-get-started-with, examples of this. Maybe i'll take a shot at
> that before 1.5 goes final...
>
>
> On 12/18/06, Claude Brisson <cl...@renegat.net> wrote:
> > Some remarks / suggestions...
> >
> > Le dimanche 17 décembre 2006 à 14:10 +0100, Henning Schmiedehausen a
> > écrit :
> > > > New users need to know
> > > > --> What the heck is Velocity?
> > >
> > > +1. So what is it? Is it a templating engine? A toolbox for a templating
> > > engine? What is the "Velocity project". I'm struggling with that answer
> > > myself. ;-)
>
> Apache Velocity is the Velocity template engine and a set of
> complementary and closely-tied projects.
>
> > Also (more pragmatic... ahum... not purely aesthetic) the "project" (in
> > the title) vs "projects" (in the menu) - what about changing the title
> > to sthing like "the Velocity Umbrella" or "the Velocity Connection"?
>
> i think we should generally refer to the Apache Velocity TLP as
> "Apache Velocity" and put no further nouns into it. If we need a
> generic noun as a synonym, i'd stick with "project" as that is how the
> ASF views us collectively.
>
> > > > --> What's the latest version?
> > >
> > > +1. Latest Version of what? We already have three sub projects.
> >
> > What about including validation/compatibility/voting steps for
> > subprojects, so that a particular version of a subproject is officially
> > linked with every engine release? Hence, there would be a "Velocity
> > package" version, the same as the core, and newcomers can avoid dealing
> > with subproject versions. Advanced users who want to mix versions can
> > fetch infos on subprojects pages and use subversion.
>
> I think this is a great idea. Not a high priority, but definitely
> something i'd like to work on once we get the TLP move completed and
> Velocity Engine 1.5 and VelocityTools 1.3 out the door.
>
> At this point, all VelocityTools releases are compatible with Velocity
> Engine 1.3+. Starting with VelocityTools 2.x, we'll probably require
> Velocity Engine 1.5+. It would be fantastic to have some simple way
> of expressing on overview of all these dependencies on our web site,
> especially as we bring in other subprojects and push Anakia and Texen
> out of the Engine.
>
> >
> > Claude
> >
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> > To unsubscribe, e-mail: dev-unsubscribe@velocity.apache.org
> > For additional commands, e-mail: dev-help@velocity.apache.org
> >
> >
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: dev-unsubscribe@velocity.apache.org
> For additional commands, e-mail: dev-help@velocity.apache.org
>
>
--
Forio Business Simulations
Will Glass-Husain
wglass@forio.com
www.forio.com
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Re: Velocity Site - Preview
Posted by Claude Brisson <cl...@renegat.net>.
> i think we should generally refer to the Apache Velocity TLP as
> "Apache Velocity" and put no further nouns into it. If we need a
> generic noun as a synonym, i'd stick with "project" as that is how the
> ASF views us collectively.
+1 for "Apache Velocity". Also, subprojects can be called "components".
> > > > --> What's the latest version?
> > >
> > > +1. Latest Version of what? We already have three sub projects.
> >
> > What about including validation/compatibility/voting steps for
> > subprojects, so that a particular version of a subproject is officially
> > linked with every engine release? Hence, there would be a "Velocity
> > package" version, the same as the core, and newcomers can avoid dealing
> > with subproject versions. Advanced users who want to mix versions can
> > fetch infos on subprojects pages and use subversion.
>
> I think this is a great idea. Not a high priority, but definitely
> something i'd like to work on once we get the TLP move completed and
> Velocity Engine 1.5 and VelocityTools 1.3 out the door.
I just realized there are tons of projects on Apache that use the same
standardized menus in the "project documentation" section. We don't need
to follow the standard, but the "dependencies" and "reactor dependency
convergence" pages look quite interesting. I didn't dig too deep but it
seems those pages are generated by Maven using POM files, am I right?
Claude
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Re: Velocity Site - Preview
Posted by Nathan Bubna <nb...@gmail.com>.
First, general thoughts....
I would like to see our web site reflect our charter in the sense that
the Velocity Engine is always prominent and pre-eminent. It is a
requirement that the other subprojects be dependent on that "core"
center pole, otherwise the umbrella will become a mere sack. I'm not
sure how best to represent this on our front page, but i think it is
important that that be the case. Apart from this emphasis, i
generally agree with Henning's thoughts on the front page.
Regarding "Velocity in a webapp"...
I like having a front page link to this guide. Like Will, it feels
like there have been fewer simplistic questions on this since we added
that page. I also think it would be good to have a link right above
or below it that quickly tells how to use Velocity outside a webapp.
The title of this would probably depend on the examples created for
it. Which, by the way, i'm not sure we have any good, simple,
easy-to-get-started-with, examples of this. Maybe i'll take a shot at
that before 1.5 goes final...
On 12/18/06, Claude Brisson <cl...@renegat.net> wrote:
> Some remarks / suggestions...
>
> Le dimanche 17 décembre 2006 à 14:10 +0100, Henning Schmiedehausen a
> écrit :
> > > New users need to know
> > > --> What the heck is Velocity?
> >
> > +1. So what is it? Is it a templating engine? A toolbox for a templating
> > engine? What is the "Velocity project". I'm struggling with that answer
> > myself. ;-)
Apache Velocity is the Velocity template engine and a set of
complementary and closely-tied projects.
> Also (more pragmatic... ahum... not purely aesthetic) the "project" (in
> the title) vs "projects" (in the menu) - what about changing the title
> to sthing like "the Velocity Umbrella" or "the Velocity Connection"?
i think we should generally refer to the Apache Velocity TLP as
"Apache Velocity" and put no further nouns into it. If we need a
generic noun as a synonym, i'd stick with "project" as that is how the
ASF views us collectively.
> > > --> What's the latest version?
> >
> > +1. Latest Version of what? We already have three sub projects.
>
> What about including validation/compatibility/voting steps for
> subprojects, so that a particular version of a subproject is officially
> linked with every engine release? Hence, there would be a "Velocity
> package" version, the same as the core, and newcomers can avoid dealing
> with subproject versions. Advanced users who want to mix versions can
> fetch infos on subprojects pages and use subversion.
I think this is a great idea. Not a high priority, but definitely
something i'd like to work on once we get the TLP move completed and
Velocity Engine 1.5 and VelocityTools 1.3 out the door.
At this point, all VelocityTools releases are compatible with Velocity
Engine 1.3+. Starting with VelocityTools 2.x, we'll probably require
Velocity Engine 1.5+. It would be fantastic to have some simple way
of expressing on overview of all these dependencies on our web site,
especially as we bring in other subprojects and push Anakia and Texen
out of the Engine.
>
> Claude
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: dev-unsubscribe@velocity.apache.org
> For additional commands, e-mail: dev-help@velocity.apache.org
>
>
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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For additional commands, e-mail: dev-help@velocity.apache.org
Re: Velocity Site - Preview
Posted by Claude Brisson <cl...@renegat.net>.
Some remarks / suggestions...
Le dimanche 17 décembre 2006 à 14:10 +0100, Henning Schmiedehausen a
écrit :
> > New users need to know
> > --> What the heck is Velocity?
>
> +1. So what is it? Is it a templating engine? A toolbox for a templating
> engine? What is the "Velocity project". I'm struggling with that answer
> myself. ;-)
Also (more pragmatic... ahum... not purely aesthetic) the "project" (in
the title) vs "projects" (in the menu) - what about changing the title
to sthing like "the Velocity Umbrella" or "the Velocity Connection"?
> > --> What's the latest version?
>
> +1. Latest Version of what? We already have three sub projects.
What about including validation/compatibility/voting steps for
subprojects, so that a particular version of a subproject is officially
linked with every engine release? Hence, there would be a "Velocity
package" version, the same as the core, and newcomers can avoid dealing
with subproject versions. Advanced users who want to mix versions can
fetch infos on subprojects pages and use subversion.
Claude
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Re: Velocity Site - Preview
Posted by Will Glass-Husain <wg...@forio.com>.
Hi Henning,
I'm afraid this is a slow conversation since we both seem to be
responding to Velocity emails in our respective evenings :-)
Thanks for the detailed response. We're in rough agreement, but have
a difference in emphasis. Clarifying/responding to a couple of
points.
* You've convinced me about not having the top page to default to
"Velocity Engine" but have general-project content. I also agree the
main page needs to include a menu with brief summaries of all
subprojects.
* I want to make sure that the main page clearly communicates to the
users what Velocity-as-a-project is all about. (Hibernate does a good
job of this). The current draft is mostly organizational ("Velocity
is a project of the Apache Software Foundation, charged with the
creation and maintenance of open-source software... "); I'm proposing
we make this more technical. The first three paragraphs of the
current web site aren't bad, actually. With a little rewording we can
make them about the approach ("templating language", "separating Java
code from text content", etc.) and not about the engine.
* About webapps. I'm just asking for a link on the main page
"Building a web application with Velocity". (again, like the current
site). We don't need to insist that Velocity-as-a-web-tool is
predominant. But I'd guess more than 50% of the new users are looking
for this info. This is tricky for them to figure out, since the
possible answers cut across multiple subprojects and third party
frameworks. My impression is that we've had less clueless "where do i
start with the web" questions on the user list since I put up this
article, though it's hard to judge.
* About the ASF. I see your point about our Apache community being
important part of who we are. I still think this info is
overemphasized in the main page and would be better served by a two
links "About the Apache Velocity Project" and "About the Apache
Software Foundation" rather than 4 inches of valuable front page body
text.
I'll have some time later this week. If you don't mind, I'll do a
pass editing the front page and see if I can inject some of these
thoughts into your excellent first cut.
WILL
On 12/17/06, Henning Schmiedehausen <hp...@intermeta.de> wrote:
> So, finally having digged out of the heap'o'work, here it goes:
>
>
> On Tue, 2006-12-12 at 09:48 -0800, Will Glass-Husain wrote:
> > Hi Henning,
> >
> > As I mentioned before, the layout look great.
> >
> > I have specific thoughts on the front page of the site. This page
> > provides the first impression for new users and is a frequent stop for
> > intermediate/experienced users. I think we should aim it to provide
> > immediate help to these two group and move all other content away.
>
>
>
> >
> > New users need to know
> > --> What the heck is Velocity?
>
> +1. So what is it? Is it a templating engine? A toolbox for a templating
> engine? What is the "Velocity project". I'm struggling with that answer
> myself. ;-)
>
> > --> How do I build a webapp with Velocity?
>
> -0. IMHO you are wrong here. If you say "how do I start developing with
> Velocity", then I agree. I resent narrowing Velocity down to a "web
> technology". IMHO we should much more focus on "general templating
> engine" and leave the "developing a web application" to the domain of
> Velocity Tools (and other explicitly web-related, velocity-based
> technologies like Click and VelTools. Offering links on "developing web
> applications with Velocity", "embedding Velocity into your project",
> "writing a general templating solution with Velocity" would be great.
> The question again is, "Is this part of the wrapper site or part of the
> engine docs"?
>
> > --> What's the latest version?
>
> +1. Latest Version of what? We already have three sub projects.
>
> > --> Is there recent activity or news about this project?
>
> +1. And I want to automatize it with an RSS feed. Maven 2 plugin
> anyone? ;-)
>
> > --> How do I get help?
>
> +1
>
> >
> > Intermediate/experienced users need to know
> > --> Where can I find the Javadocs, users guide, etc
>
> Hm. In my experience from projects where I proposed Velocity, the most
> important question is "how do I download it". Javadocs, guides etc.
> comes later.
>
> >
> > Stuff that isn't as important (and shouldn't take up valuable front page space)
> > --> Anything more than a sentence about the Velocity TLP organization
>
> No. "The Velocity Project" is IMHO != "The Velocity Engine Project". Do
> we want a first class citizen? This is the wrapper site for the TLP and
> the most important thing for me is that this site should change as
> little as possible.
>
> Having everything at your finger tips means, that you can have a stable
> page with all the information that you can bookmark. Not, that it must
> be the first page on the site.
>
> >From an user perspective it is (IMHO) much more important that if I
> bookmark a page from the wrapper site, it is around for a very long
> time. The information on it might change but the page itself should not.
> The ASF has a number of projects that are notoriously bad in that
> respect. So these projects end up with "everything on index.html"
> because this is the only page that they can guarantee to be always
> there.
>
> > --> Anything about the Apache Software Foundation
>
> -1 here. Velocity is a part of the ASF and either we are doomed to have
> "this is our license", "these are our goals", "these are our rules"
> pages or just say "we are a part of the ASF" prominently and then link
> to the general information pages.
>
> > --> Long menus in the body of the page.
> >
> > It's tempting to say "this is a hierarchy -- we shouldn't put engine
> > specific info on the home page-- everything goes on the individual
> > project page". But I disagree-- for ease of use we need to orient
> > users immediately on the main page of the site.
>
> And I disagree here. If you are a first timer, the TLP site should give
> you an overview on what is there. I remember coming as a first timer
> (and initial exposure to Apache/Jakarta) to the Turbine web site and
> getting swamped with "Turbine", "Fulcrum", "Stratum", "Scarab", even
> "Ant" and later "Maven" and not being able to make heads or tails of it
> because there was simply no overview there. I want to avoid that with
> Velocity first-timers.
>
> You get to the site. You see what is there. You might even decide that
> "Tools" is the right thing for you, even though you came here hearing
> about "Velocity" as in "Velocity Engine". If you are a seasoned user or
> just a "Velocity Templating engine" user, you bookmark
> http://velocity.apache.org/engine/ and you are done.
>
> The one project I try to model the site after is the Struts web site.
> Struts basically is one project. However, the actual project information
> is *not* available from its title page. It is general information. If
> you are a struts developer, you don't bookmark the first page. You
> bookmark e.g. http://struts.apache.org/1.3.5/ for struts 1.3.5. And that
> page will not change.
>
> > It might be helpful to look at other multiproject sites, e.g.
> > Hibernate (http://hibernate.org) First two paragraphs - about the main
> > project. Short third paragraph about the organization. Then comes a
> > short summary of each project. Then recent news (with dates). On the
> > left is clear, bold menu with prominent link to "Documentation",
> > "Download", and "Forum & Mailing Lists". Not saying this is perfect,
> > but all the user questions listed above are answered with a minimum of
> > scrolling or clicking around.
>
> Yes, I'm fine with that. I'm not fine with "moving Velocity Engine docs
> to top-level and pushing everything else aside". I think that we both do
> want the same thing. The Hibernate site is BTW very similar to the
> Struts site.
>
> [...]
>
> The rest of the comments are about pages that for me are either "spare
> pages" or "stuff shuffling around". I agree with these comments but this
> is just temporary stuff.
>
> Thanks a lot for your input, I'm pretty sure that this will work out in
> a way that we all can agree on. Please continue commenting and or
> putting patches in. I don't want that to be an one-man show.
>
> Best regards
> Henning
>
> --
> Henning P. Schmiedehausen -- hps@intermeta.de | J2EE, Linux,
> 91054 Buckenhof, Germany -- +49 9131 506540 | Apache person
> Open Source Consulting, Development, Design | Velocity - Turbine guy
>
> "Save the cheerleader. Save the world."
>
>
>
--
Forio Business Simulations
Will Glass-Husain
wglass@forio.com
www.forio.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------
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Re: Velocity Site - Preview
Posted by Henning Schmiedehausen <hp...@intermeta.de>.
So, finally having digged out of the heap'o'work, here it goes:
On Tue, 2006-12-12 at 09:48 -0800, Will Glass-Husain wrote:
> Hi Henning,
>
> As I mentioned before, the layout look great.
>
> I have specific thoughts on the front page of the site. This page
> provides the first impression for new users and is a frequent stop for
> intermediate/experienced users. I think we should aim it to provide
> immediate help to these two group and move all other content away.
>
> New users need to know
> --> What the heck is Velocity?
+1. So what is it? Is it a templating engine? A toolbox for a templating
engine? What is the "Velocity project". I'm struggling with that answer
myself. ;-)
> --> How do I build a webapp with Velocity?
-0. IMHO you are wrong here. If you say "how do I start developing with
Velocity", then I agree. I resent narrowing Velocity down to a "web
technology". IMHO we should much more focus on "general templating
engine" and leave the "developing a web application" to the domain of
Velocity Tools (and other explicitly web-related, velocity-based
technologies like Click and VelTools. Offering links on "developing web
applications with Velocity", "embedding Velocity into your project",
"writing a general templating solution with Velocity" would be great.
The question again is, "Is this part of the wrapper site or part of the
engine docs"?
> --> What's the latest version?
+1. Latest Version of what? We already have three sub projects.
> --> Is there recent activity or news about this project?
+1. And I want to automatize it with an RSS feed. Maven 2 plugin
anyone? ;-)
> --> How do I get help?
+1
>
> Intermediate/experienced users need to know
> --> Where can I find the Javadocs, users guide, etc
Hm. In my experience from projects where I proposed Velocity, the most
important question is "how do I download it". Javadocs, guides etc.
comes later.
>
> Stuff that isn't as important (and shouldn't take up valuable front page space)
> --> Anything more than a sentence about the Velocity TLP organization
No. "The Velocity Project" is IMHO != "The Velocity Engine Project". Do
we want a first class citizen? This is the wrapper site for the TLP and
the most important thing for me is that this site should change as
little as possible.
Having everything at your finger tips means, that you can have a stable
page with all the information that you can bookmark. Not, that it must
be the first page on the site.
>>From an user perspective it is (IMHO) much more important that if I
bookmark a page from the wrapper site, it is around for a very long
time. The information on it might change but the page itself should not.
The ASF has a number of projects that are notoriously bad in that
respect. So these projects end up with "everything on index.html"
because this is the only page that they can guarantee to be always
there.
> --> Anything about the Apache Software Foundation
-1 here. Velocity is a part of the ASF and either we are doomed to have
"this is our license", "these are our goals", "these are our rules"
pages or just say "we are a part of the ASF" prominently and then link
to the general information pages.
> --> Long menus in the body of the page.
>
> It's tempting to say "this is a hierarchy -- we shouldn't put engine
> specific info on the home page-- everything goes on the individual
> project page". But I disagree-- for ease of use we need to orient
> users immediately on the main page of the site.
And I disagree here. If you are a first timer, the TLP site should give
you an overview on what is there. I remember coming as a first timer
(and initial exposure to Apache/Jakarta) to the Turbine web site and
getting swamped with "Turbine", "Fulcrum", "Stratum", "Scarab", even
"Ant" and later "Maven" and not being able to make heads or tails of it
because there was simply no overview there. I want to avoid that with
Velocity first-timers.
You get to the site. You see what is there. You might even decide that
"Tools" is the right thing for you, even though you came here hearing
about "Velocity" as in "Velocity Engine". If you are a seasoned user or
just a "Velocity Templating engine" user, you bookmark
http://velocity.apache.org/engine/ and you are done.
The one project I try to model the site after is the Struts web site.
Struts basically is one project. However, the actual project information
is *not* available from its title page. It is general information. If
you are a struts developer, you don't bookmark the first page. You
bookmark e.g. http://struts.apache.org/1.3.5/ for struts 1.3.5. And that
page will not change.
> It might be helpful to look at other multiproject sites, e.g.
> Hibernate (http://hibernate.org) First two paragraphs - about the main
> project. Short third paragraph about the organization. Then comes a
> short summary of each project. Then recent news (with dates). On the
> left is clear, bold menu with prominent link to "Documentation",
> "Download", and "Forum & Mailing Lists". Not saying this is perfect,
> but all the user questions listed above are answered with a minimum of
> scrolling or clicking around.
Yes, I'm fine with that. I'm not fine with "moving Velocity Engine docs
to top-level and pushing everything else aside". I think that we both do
want the same thing. The Hibernate site is BTW very similar to the
Struts site.
[...]
The rest of the comments are about pages that for me are either "spare
pages" or "stuff shuffling around". I agree with these comments but this
is just temporary stuff.
Thanks a lot for your input, I'm pretty sure that this will work out in
a way that we all can agree on. Please continue commenting and or
putting patches in. I don't want that to be an one-man show.
Best regards
Henning
--
Henning P. Schmiedehausen -- hps@intermeta.de | J2EE, Linux,
91054 Buckenhof, Germany -- +49 9131 506540 | Apache person
Open Source Consulting, Development, Design | Velocity - Turbine guy
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Re: Velocity Site - Preview
Posted by Will Glass-Husain <wg...@forio.com>.
Hi Henning,
As I mentioned before, the layout look great.
I have specific thoughts on the front page of the site. This page
provides the first impression for new users and is a frequent stop for
intermediate/experienced users. I think we should aim it to provide
immediate help to these two group and move all other content away.
New users need to know
--> What the heck is Velocity?
--> How do I build a webapp with Velocity?
--> What's the latest version?
--> Is there recent activity or news about this project?
--> How do I get help?
Intermediate/experienced users need to know
--> Where can I find the Javadocs, users guide, etc
Stuff that isn't as important (and shouldn't take up valuable front page space)
--> Anything more than a sentence about the Velocity TLP organization
--> Anything about the Apache Software Foundation
--> Long menus in the body of the page.
It's tempting to say "this is a hierarchy -- we shouldn't put engine
specific info on the home page-- everything goes on the individual
project page". But I disagree-- for ease of use we need to orient
users immediately on the main page of the site.
It might be helpful to look at other multiproject sites, e.g.
Hibernate (http://hibernate.org) First two paragraphs - about the main
project. Short third paragraph about the organization. Then comes a
short summary of each project. Then recent news (with dates). On the
left is clear, bold menu with prominent link to "Documentation",
"Download", and "Forum & Mailing Lists". Not saying this is perfect,
but all the user questions listed above are answered with a minimum of
scrolling or clicking around.
On a new topic, when I click "Engine" I am apparently in some type of
global-all-Engine-version home page that will then link to each of our
historic versions. I think this is a mistake. Most users don't care
about historic versions. I suggest we link directly to the current
release, with hyperlinks to take you to docs for historic versions (or
bleeding edge from source control). Again, the motivation is to make
navigation simple so users can find what they want quickly.
By the way, I'd be glad to help out writing content. But I'll pause
to hear comments first.
WILL
P.S.
Thanks for pushing this along. I'm really eager to see us launch TLP
and Velocity 1.5.
On 12/11/06, Henning P. Schmiedehausen <hp...@intermeta.de> wrote:
> [Hm. I could have sworn I've sent this out already. Seems it never
> made it]
>
> To let you know what I've been busy over the weekend: I've been
> wrestling with maven 2 and site building. A preview of where I intent
> to go is currently visible at http://velocity.apache.org/staging/
>
> Comments, Criticism, Help, Patches wanted. Most of that is already in
> the site svn; I've created a custom skin for the site, that is not yet
> there.
>
> Best regards
> Henning
>
>
> --
> Henning P. Schmiedehausen -- hps@intermeta.de | J2EE, Linux,
> 91054 Buckenhof, Germany -- +49 9131 506540 | Apache person
> Open Source Consulting, Development, Design | Velocity - Turbine guy
>
> "Save the cheerleader. Save the world."
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: dev-unsubscribe@velocity.apache.org
> For additional commands, e-mail: dev-help@velocity.apache.org
>
>
--
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Will Glass-Husain
wglass@forio.com
www.forio.com
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Re: Velocity Site - Preview
Posted by Will Glass-Husain <wg...@forio.com>.
Hi Henning,
No branches or tags - sounds good.
WILL
On 12/12/06, Henning P. Schmiedehausen <hp...@intermeta.de> wrote:
> "Will Glass-Husain" <wg...@forio.com> writes:
>
> Thanks. I have the build process nailed down now and the skin is
> checked in. If you want to try out for yourself, just fetch
> http://svn.apache.org/repos/asf/velocity/site/, take a look at the
> README.txt and follow the instructions.
>
> (I've removed the 'trunk' directory on purpose, mainly because a trunk
> implies IMHO tags and branches. Both we probably will not need for the
> site (or will we?).
>
> I've seen your other mail but it's already midnight over here and I
> will comment about it tomorrow.
>
> I've deployed a new preview on the staging directory; should hit the
> mirror servers in a few minutes or so.
>
> Best regards
> Henning
>
>
> >Interesting. I like the look and feel. I've got lots of comments on
> >the content. But I'm going to send them tomorrow when I'm more awake.
>
> >WILL
>
> >On 12/11/06, Henning P. Schmiedehausen <hp...@intermeta.de> wrote:
> >> [Hm. I could have sworn I've sent this out already. Seems it never
> >> made it]
> >>
> >> To let you know what I've been busy over the weekend: I've been
> >> wrestling with maven 2 and site building. A preview of where I intent
> >> to go is currently visible at http://velocity.apache.org/staging/
> >>
> >> Comments, Criticism, Help, Patches wanted. Most of that is already in
> >> the site svn; I've created a custom skin for the site, that is not yet
> >> there.
> >>
> >> Best regards
> >> Henning
> >>
> >>
> >> --
> >> Henning P. Schmiedehausen -- hps@intermeta.de | J2EE, Linux,
> >> 91054 Buckenhof, Germany -- +49 9131 506540 | Apache person
> >> Open Source Consulting, Development, Design | Velocity - Turbine guy
> >>
> >> "Save the cheerleader. Save the world."
> >>
> >> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> >> To unsubscribe, e-mail: dev-unsubscribe@velocity.apache.org
> >> For additional commands, e-mail: dev-help@velocity.apache.org
> >>
> >>
>
>
> >--
> >Forio Business Simulations
>
> >Will Glass-Husain
> >wglass@forio.com
> >www.forio.com
>
> >---------------------------------------------------------------------
> >To unsubscribe, e-mail: dev-unsubscribe@velocity.apache.org
> >For additional commands, e-mail: dev-help@velocity.apache.org
>
> --
> Henning P. Schmiedehausen -- hps@intermeta.de | J2EE, Linux,
> 91054 Buckenhof, Germany -- +49 9131 506540 | Apache person
> Open Source Consulting, Development, Design | Velocity - Turbine guy
>
> "Save the cheerleader. Save the world."
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: dev-unsubscribe@velocity.apache.org
> For additional commands, e-mail: dev-help@velocity.apache.org
>
>
--
Forio Business Simulations
Will Glass-Husain
wglass@forio.com
www.forio.com
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Re: Velocity Site - Preview
Posted by "Henning P. Schmiedehausen" <hp...@intermeta.de>.
"Will Glass-Husain" <wg...@forio.com> writes:
Thanks. I have the build process nailed down now and the skin is
checked in. If you want to try out for yourself, just fetch
http://svn.apache.org/repos/asf/velocity/site/, take a look at the
README.txt and follow the instructions.
(I've removed the 'trunk' directory on purpose, mainly because a trunk
implies IMHO tags and branches. Both we probably will not need for the
site (or will we?).
I've seen your other mail but it's already midnight over here and I
will comment about it tomorrow.
I've deployed a new preview on the staging directory; should hit the
mirror servers in a few minutes or so.
Best regards
Henning
>Interesting. I like the look and feel. I've got lots of comments on
>the content. But I'm going to send them tomorrow when I'm more awake.
>WILL
>On 12/11/06, Henning P. Schmiedehausen <hp...@intermeta.de> wrote:
>> [Hm. I could have sworn I've sent this out already. Seems it never
>> made it]
>>
>> To let you know what I've been busy over the weekend: I've been
>> wrestling with maven 2 and site building. A preview of where I intent
>> to go is currently visible at http://velocity.apache.org/staging/
>>
>> Comments, Criticism, Help, Patches wanted. Most of that is already in
>> the site svn; I've created a custom skin for the site, that is not yet
>> there.
>>
>> Best regards
>> Henning
>>
>>
>> --
>> Henning P. Schmiedehausen -- hps@intermeta.de | J2EE, Linux,
>> 91054 Buckenhof, Germany -- +49 9131 506540 | Apache person
>> Open Source Consulting, Development, Design | Velocity - Turbine guy
>>
>> "Save the cheerleader. Save the world."
>>
>> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
>> To unsubscribe, e-mail: dev-unsubscribe@velocity.apache.org
>> For additional commands, e-mail: dev-help@velocity.apache.org
>>
>>
>--
>Forio Business Simulations
>Will Glass-Husain
>wglass@forio.com
>www.forio.com
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
>To unsubscribe, e-mail: dev-unsubscribe@velocity.apache.org
>For additional commands, e-mail: dev-help@velocity.apache.org
--
Henning P. Schmiedehausen -- hps@intermeta.de | J2EE, Linux,
91054 Buckenhof, Germany -- +49 9131 506540 | Apache person
Open Source Consulting, Development, Design | Velocity - Turbine guy
"Save the cheerleader. Save the world."
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Re: Velocity Site - Preview
Posted by Malcolm Edgar <ma...@gmail.com>.
Hi Guys,
the new site looks great.
regards Malcolm Edgar
On 12/12/06, Will Glass-Husain <wg...@forio.com> wrote:
> Interesting. I like the look and feel. I've got lots of comments on
> the content. But I'm going to send them tomorrow when I'm more awake.
>
> WILL
>
> On 12/11/06, Henning P. Schmiedehausen <hp...@intermeta.de> wrote:
> > [Hm. I could have sworn I've sent this out already. Seems it never
> > made it]
> >
> > To let you know what I've been busy over the weekend: I've been
> > wrestling with maven 2 and site building. A preview of where I intent
> > to go is currently visible at http://velocity.apache.org/staging/
> >
> > Comments, Criticism, Help, Patches wanted. Most of that is already in
> > the site svn; I've created a custom skin for the site, that is not yet
> > there.
> >
> > Best regards
> > Henning
> >
> >
> > --
> > Henning P. Schmiedehausen -- hps@intermeta.de | J2EE, Linux,
> > 91054 Buckenhof, Germany -- +49 9131 506540 | Apache person
> > Open Source Consulting, Development, Design | Velocity - Turbine guy
> >
> > "Save the cheerleader. Save the world."
> >
> > ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> > To unsubscribe, e-mail: dev-unsubscribe@velocity.apache.org
> > For additional commands, e-mail: dev-help@velocity.apache.org
> >
> >
>
>
> --
> Forio Business Simulations
>
> Will Glass-Husain
> wglass@forio.com
> www.forio.com
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: dev-unsubscribe@velocity.apache.org
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>
>
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Re: Velocity Site - Preview
Posted by Will Glass-Husain <wg...@forio.com>.
Interesting. I like the look and feel. I've got lots of comments on
the content. But I'm going to send them tomorrow when I'm more awake.
WILL
On 12/11/06, Henning P. Schmiedehausen <hp...@intermeta.de> wrote:
> [Hm. I could have sworn I've sent this out already. Seems it never
> made it]
>
> To let you know what I've been busy over the weekend: I've been
> wrestling with maven 2 and site building. A preview of where I intent
> to go is currently visible at http://velocity.apache.org/staging/
>
> Comments, Criticism, Help, Patches wanted. Most of that is already in
> the site svn; I've created a custom skin for the site, that is not yet
> there.
>
> Best regards
> Henning
>
>
> --
> Henning P. Schmiedehausen -- hps@intermeta.de | J2EE, Linux,
> 91054 Buckenhof, Germany -- +49 9131 506540 | Apache person
> Open Source Consulting, Development, Design | Velocity - Turbine guy
>
> "Save the cheerleader. Save the world."
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------------
> To unsubscribe, e-mail: dev-unsubscribe@velocity.apache.org
> For additional commands, e-mail: dev-help@velocity.apache.org
>
>
--
Forio Business Simulations
Will Glass-Husain
wglass@forio.com
www.forio.com
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