[BioPython] Re: [Bioperl-l] wiki

Jeffrey Chang jchang@SMI.Stanford.EDU
Wed, 6 Sep 2000 15:39:14 -0700 (PDT)


[I switched this from the bioperl-l list to biopython.  I'm probably
breaking some etiquette, but it's more relevant here anyway.  :) ]

On Wed, 6 Sep 2000, Johann Visagie wrote:

> Jeff,
> 
> Jeffrey Chang on 2000-09-06 (Wed) at 00:37:33 -0700:
> > 
> > Are there tools that will take a Wiki and package it up in another format,
> > such as printable HTML or LaTeX?
> 
> None of the Wiki clones that I know of allow anything like that.  Though the
> original WikiWikiWeb has been around for yonks, the popularity of Wiki as a
> medium has only taken of lately, and I suppose that none of the clones have
> yet had the time to develop too much creature feep.  :-)
> 
> <aside type="off-topic">
> 
> I feel that structured documents of some sort are one of the prime
> deliverables of any collaboration.

[...]

> Sorry for the long aside, but I'm becoming more and more interested in the
> whole online collaboration problem, and more convinced I should be doing
> something about it.  Now, if only I had the time...  :-)
> 
> </aside>
> 
> -- Johann


Yes, I'm fascinated by it as well.  However, I'm trying to figure out how
WikiWiki might be used to support biopython documentation.  I like the
idea that anyone can edit the pages, so that creating documentation
becomes a community effort.  Whenever something cool comes up, anyone can
write it into a web page.  This is much better than sending out code
snippets on a mailing list, because it's too hard to retrieve that way.

However, we do need to have some concrete documentation that we can
package and distribute in some format that people can print out.  Some
people (like me) are not always working in places where they have internet
access.  Thus, we'll keep on working on our LaTeX-based documentation.

Jeff