LDP Weekly News

The Linux Documentation Project Weekly News

Issue Number : 23
Publication Date : 2003-09-30
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Table of Contents
1. New documents
    1.1. Fresh@LDP
    1.2. Submitted for review
   
   
2. Updates
    2.1. HOWTOs
    2.2. Guides
   
   
3. Interview - Sergiusz Pawlowicz
4. Happenings in the LDP world
    4.1. Software patents in Europe
    4.2. LDP documentation format
    4.3. Search capability for XML docs using Lucene
   
   
5. Feedback and Contributions

1. New documents

1.1. Fresh@LDP

  * Announcing the [http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Sybase-ASE-HOWTO/] Sybase ASE HOWTO
    v1.0 by Kian Spongsveen. The full name for this document is the Sybase
    Adaptive Server Enterprise/SQL Server HOWTO; it describes the
    installation and basic usage of this database on the Linux platform.
   
  * If privacy is an issue for you, check out our second new document this
    week: the [http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Encrypted-Root-Filesystem-HOWTO/]
    Encrypted Root Filesystem HOWTO by Christophe Devine.
   

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1.2. Submitted for review

  * Pramode C.E. sent in a document entitled [http://lists.tldp.org/
    index.cgi?5:mss:5924:200309:pgieheipbecfpcodijdd] Linux Kernel Commentary
    and awaits your remarks.
   
  * Scot W. Stevenson sent in his Mock Mainframe Mini-HOWTO, which would be 
    "A brief description of a standard way to set up and work with a computer
    network for a small group of people that is inexpensive to build, easy to
    administer, and relatively safe. It is written for users who might not be
    completely familiar with all of the concepts involved". Scott has
    requested for comments on this document
   
  * Machtelt Garrels submitted the LDAP Operations / Management HOWTO and
    welcomes any comments you may have.
   

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2. Updates

2.1. HOWTOs

  * We received update v2.19 of David Lawyer's [http://tldp.org/HOWTO/
    Serial-HOWTO.html] Serial HOWTO.
   
  * Hvard Stranden provided us with v1.3.1 of his [http://tldp.org/HOWTO/
    XFree86-R200/] ATI R200 + XFree86 4.x mini-HOWTO.
   
  * The [http://tldp.org/HOWTO/User-Group-HOWTO.html] Linux User Group HOWTO
    by Rick Moen is now at v1.6.8.
   
  * Svetoslav Slavtchev's [http://tldp.org/HOWTO/XFree-Local-multi-user-HOWTO
    /] XFree Local Multi-User HOWTO was updated to v1.2.1.
   
  * Alavoor Vasudevan sent in v6.9 of the [http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Kernel-HOWTO
    /] Kernel HOWTO.
   
  * David S. Lawyer's [http://tldp.org/HOWTO/Text-Terminal-HOWTO.html]
    Text-Terminal-HOWTO is now at v1.32
   

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2.2. Guides

  * The Windows+BSD+Linux Installation Guide by Subhasish Ghosh has been
    updated to v1.1.
   

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3. Interview - Sergiusz Pawlowicz

Sergiusz Pawlowicz (or Serek as a few people call him) has been into Linux
and Free Software ever since 1994, almost ten years. For nearly as long, he
has been one of the thriving forces behind the Polish translation effort.
When he's not administering our mailing-lists or the CVS, he manages his
company, [http://www.a-k-f.com/] http://www.a-k-f.com/.


Figure 1. Sergiusz Pawlowicz, CVS and mailing-list administrator

[Sergiusz]

Q: So, Sergiusz, after all this time, do you remember how you got involved
with TLDP?

A: I wrote Paul Jones, that I would like to help with LDP, and I also
proposed to switch our document management system to CVS. Because I'm also
into the development of the [http://docs.pld-linux.org/] PLD Linux Distro, I
was very experienced in using versioning systems in big scale. As you can
see, my proposition was accepted :-)

Q: Apart from TLDP and PLD, you're involved in a number of other Open Source
projects: the Free Software Foundation, you translate for the GNU project,
... And I know from my own experience that you take great care and that
people can rely on you. Do you ever take a day off?

A: Yeah, my girlfriend is rather unhappy. It is a real problem. But community
service is stronger than me. It is fascinating when you have a real influence
on political and sociological aspects of informatics.

Q: Is there anything you want to share with the world that you cannot add to
one of the Open Source projects you are involved with, such as the Polish
Cooking HOWTO, maybe, or the Polish Traditional Woodwork FAQ? This is your
chance to have your deepest wish heard ;-)

A: Yeah - "HOWTO to stand up and turn off TV". It really gives me the creeps
to see that so many people are in an "idle state" and just watch television.
Without adding anything to society, while listening to information prepared
by Public Relations in big concerns, they are empty-headed.

Q: In your opinion, what makes TLDP so interesting?

A: The most interesting thing in TLDP is that everyone can join us!

Q: How do you say "If all else fails, read the HOWTO" in Polish?

A: Hehe, you won't believe how strange it sounds, I better not answer this
one ;-)
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4. Happenings in the LDP world

4.1. Software patents in Europe

Since TLDP provides documentation on free software, a lot of our readers have
been concerned about the pushing of software patents in Europe lately. Thanks
to all of you who wrote to their representatives in the European Parliament,
the worst case scenario was avoided. Because of this good news, a lot of Open
Source sites have been re-opened last week. However, the decision has only
been postponed, and danger of restriction is still pending. Read more at
[http://swpat.ffii.org/] http://swpat.ffii.org/.
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4.2. LDP documentation format

Once in a while, we are reminded of the fact that the LDP caters to the needs
of all the people. The usefulness of the format and clean design used by LDP
for publishing various HOWTOs has come up yet again in this mail from David
Lawyer and this one from Machtelt Garrels.
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4.3. Search capability for XML docs using Lucene

Saqib Ali was working on adding search capabilities to an application that he
was working on and [http://lists.tldp.org/index.cgi?1:mss:5053:200309:
icjmgahabpdlipbhobhb] wondered if there would any interest if in indexing all
TLDP XML documents using Lucene. He already has an implementation of cocoon
running to present Docbook XML documents as at [http://www.xml-dev.com:8080/
cocoon/mount/docbook/Apache-WebDAV-LDAP-HOWTO.html] Apache-WebDAV-LDAP-HOWTO
and is planning to add the indexing and search part using Lucene.
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5. Feedback and Contributions

The Linux Documentation Project (TLDP) is working on developing free, high
quality documentation for the GNU/Linux operating system. Announcements about
TLDP are made via <announce-subscribe@en.tldp.org>. You can help TLDP by:
Reviewing a document in progress, reviving an unmaintained document or
providing assistance with [http://www.tldp.org/authors/markup.html] markup.
You are welcome to participate in TLDP discussions at <
discuss-subscribe@en.tldp.org>.

Help us create this newsletter. We need volunteers who follow the community
(mailing lists, newsgroups, web channels) and report events related to free
software documentation. Please send in any such information to <
feedback@en.tldp.org>.

LDP Weekly News is compiled and edited by Machtelt Garrels, Torsten Schlabach
and Y Giridhar Appaji Nag with help from several other people.