Hi, Due to the hugely familiar newbie question "How do i install blah application?" i would like to propose making a group designed specifically to make documentation for installing popular applications.

I myself as a newbie am finding the lack of correct and step by step documentation a real pain and was wondering if anything was being done about the problem or is going to be done about it or whether this idea will spark up a new branch of the linux group.

Basically i was wondering if a website could be set up (something like www.installinglinuxapps.com or something). which would list the applications with requests to have instructions on installing them (on all distros) and information on where to get libraries that might be needed.

Anybody got any other ideas of comments to make on this suggestion?

thanks siphi.

That sounds like a very good idea. Except, there are thousands of apps out there - I believe Debian alone has over 8000 and counting - you would need to have a listing for each app, how to do it if it's an rpm, deb, source file, etc and take account of how the different distros work and the fact that they may install to different places.

Equally, a number of progs have different install sites, your links would have to be kept up to date (esp. if you link to a 'non-official' site). It looks like a mammoth task to me.

Why not just post your how-tos in the LinuxAnswersboards?

i understand that there are thousands of apps out there. But maybe if we had this way of giving information to people who wanted it. all future applications programmers should send a bare detail to the site and then the group would post it up on the website from there.

I think it could be accomplished if the linux community had some dedicated users out there who wanted to contribute to the community. Mostly typists and webmasters along with linux experts would be volunteering for this task.
I'm sure if a php database styled website was setup with a way of sending in installation instructions from other websites and then the data collected was filtered and typed up (error checked) and posted. You would soon enough have covered about 50 -60% of the popular applications out there.

And for the less common applications you could have a submitting form for users to type up the way to install the package they had.

i know it still seems like a scary task to accomplish and would undoubtedly cost some sort of money. But the main thing for this idea to work would be that it is run by volunteers and that it costs viewers nothing to use. Maybe some addvertising could pay for bandwidth and servers.

For what you want, why not drop Jeremy a line and suggest an expansion of LinuxAnswers? The systems are pretty much in place.

Additionally, we have a built in user base here and we wouldn't be either reinventing the wheel or taking users from this site.

Ok i asked jeremy and i'm waiting for his reply. (should be soon i hope). For the moment ill work on a page layout or something for it. bye for now. Any other ideas on this please email me at "edit: email removed" thanks.

Detailed step by step installation HOWTO's would certainly be welcome in LinuxAnswers.

--jeremy

oops

Ok I had a look at the way linuxanswers is laid out and I'm not sure if it would be able to work in that styled layout. after all it would be a huge list of programs.
Maybe jeremy, if you created another section to linuxquestions.org and used the forum style layout to list most of the common applications (at first) and then ask people to fill out how they got theirs to install. I think this way would be a very good way of getting it to work. Instead of having people posting new messages in these forums everytime (and sometimes repeatedly), they could just browse through the new forum with the instalation instuctions. And if the program isn't listed you could have a seperate section for them to ask for instructions on whatever program they have.
What do you think?

That would still result in a list of programs, they would just be threads instead of LinuxAnswers (unless I am missing something). Also, LinuxAnswers allows comments and additions via the discussion thread.

--jeremy

Ok. I think i'll try making me own little page on this box using apache and mysql and php (if i can get it wrking lol). ill be sure to send in a link if i get it working. I'd love if i could get others involved in this too. drop me a line on "edit: email removed" thanks siphi.