This Review focuses on a variety of documentation for the HyperLedger Fabric project, as a case study indicative of how other pages might be standardized. This initial commit is a fact finding mission with generalized conclusions. These conclusions should be discussed, edited and converted into direct action items. This is not an exhaustive review, but an initial fact finding summary. It is mean to foster open discussion and create a place for new ideas on the betterment of Hyperledger project documentation.
Main Recommendations:
- Current / Future Hyperledger Projects should utilize the documentation pattern found on the Fabric documentation sources.
- The Fabric documentation pattern is as follows: ReadtheDocs exists as the main source of non-code truth, GitHub for all code truth, and a Hyperledger Wiki page for Community related items and badging.
- All Projects can leverage Discord: include or “pin” documentation relevant posts. (currently all are not pinned)
- Re-factor all documentation content to adhere to the various sources of truth in the Fabric documentation pattern.
- Standardize graphics across all documentation, especially in the ReadtheDocs.
- Harmonize the Read the Docs- especially in the glossary section for concept lookups and graphical standardization.
- Graphics are present in the Read the Docs page, but not present in the glossary- would be a “nice to have” to complete the glossary section.
Hyperledger Fabric Documentation
HyperLedger Fabric documentation can be found in a variety of sources, depending on your use case. Here are the main documentation standards:
- HyperLedger Fabric Read the Docs: https://hyperledger-fabric.readthedocs.io/
- Designed for Multiple Audiences: Developers and Business Professionals
- Generally follows topical organization with bullet points
- Has code, helpful imagery, written explanations
- Sorts concepts into tutorials, very comprehensive spread of information
- Doesn’t include source code files, at times will link to GitHub files for more detail
- Some areas are informative, rich knowledge base
- Use Cases area could be more informative (Recommend re-fresh / re-formatting of both pages, especially wiki page. currently just links to hyperledger wiki)
- HyperLedger Fabric Main GitHub page: https://github.com/hyperledger/fabric
- Designed for developers: whether smart contract, application or enterprise blockchain developers
- Has a Readme file for general information, versioning, installation
- Links back to the HyperLedger Fabric Wiki
- HyperLedger Fabric Wiki: https://wiki.hyperledger.org/display/fabric
- Designed for general audiences, but it very brief from a descriptive standpoint.
- Is a great starting point for both technical and non technical audiences
- Includes LifeCycle badging system- noted as “Graduated” See Project LifeCycle
- Has CII Badge and Description
- Includes multiple links including the ReadtheDocs, GitHub and Original Design Documentation
- Indicates that the main documentation is the Read the Docs page
- HyperLedger Fabric Discord Documentation Channel: https://discord.com/channels/905194001349627914/945038395825070141
- The Discord channel is designed for asking and answering questions, fostering discussion regarding HyperLedger Fabric Documentation
- Not a single source of truth for any audience, however helpful for business, developer or community members
- Lots of useful links, but nothing is pinned for quick access
- As Discord becomes bigger, “pinning” will be eminently helpful
- HyperLedger Fabric LandScape Page: https://landscape.hyperledger.org/projects?selected=hyperledger-fabric
- The LandScape Page holds notable metrics, badging, links and an aggregate of the Fabric Twitter Page
- Metrics include the programming languages used, and the number of recent commits.
- The links include a comprehensive list of the various Fabric GitHub repositories
- The Twitter aggregate section includes the latest 3 tweets from the Hyperledger Foundation
Some Key Conclusions:
Most current Fabric links point to the Read the Docs page as the source of truth. Thus it should be considered the de facto standard in a general sense. Fabric uses Read the Docs as the main source of truth for descriptions, GitHub as the source of truth for Code, and the HyperLedger Wiki page as the source of Truth for community related items. Projects should be customized as required. But some information in Fabric is spread out over multiple pages. Thus, it would be more efficient to be grouped by audience for easier readability. For example, some details are on the wiki page that aren’t on Read the Docs- and vice versa. Use of graphics on the Read the Docs is sometimes inconsistent. The TaskForce could hone in on any existing inconsistencies in style, graphics, tables, bullet points, readability, links, and content usefulness for all projects to better serve future and current HyperLedger projects.
Comparison of Fabric Vs. Besu Documentation
This comparison is an initial analysis of the level of standardization between the Hyperledger Fabric Vs. Besu ReadTheDocs. ReadtheDocs was chosen because the ReadTheDocs is main source of documentation truth, and most deep in knowledge / helpfulness.
Key Takeaways:
- Besu introduces itself as a product first, whereas Fabric introduces blockchain before a product introduction.
- Should we standardize this? Should we introduce the product or concept?
- Recommendation: Plenty of space in the ReadtheDocs for conceptual resources, let’s introduce the product first. (technical documentation typically assumes the developer knows the fundamentals)
- FAQ style Vs. Concept style. Besu uses FAQ, Fabric conceptual.
- Practical Vs. Theory: Besu very quickly is practical. Fabric documentation puts you through lots of theory before set-up steps.
- Main structure: Fabric is structured much differently from Besu.
- Audience: Even though the Besu documentation is deep and thorough, it is noticeably simpler in structure for a first-time user.
- Social Media: Besu main page is lacking social media links, and Fabric displays them- particularly the Discord is important for community engagement.
Comparison of Fabric Vs. SawTooth Documentation
This comparison is an initial analysis of the level of standardization between the Hyperledger Fabric Vs. SawTooth ReadTheDocs.
The terminology used between the two varies: while both begin with a key concepts / key terms introduction. Fabric emphasizes the idea of a Blockchain, while Sawtooth emphasizes the idea of a distributed ledger. While every blockchain uses a distributed ledger system, not all distributed ledgers conform to the characteristics of a blockchain. Therefore greater clarity may be gained if all documentation emphasized blockchain as the standard starting point, which utilizes practices related to distributed ledgers.
Key Takeaways:
- No standard navigation style or layout exists between Fabric and Sawtooth. Each project has a different look and feel to their ReadtheDocs
- Layout and conceptual navigation is different between the projects: this could lead to slower development and adoption
- Both Fabric and Sawtooth emphasize concepts first, instead of a QuickStart or rapid development deployment project example
- Fabric has a much deeper conceptual dive into blockchain concepts, while Sawtooth has an initial conceptual dive.
- Code formatting looks cleaner and more legible on Fabric Documentation.
- Sawtooth begins with a Glossary, Fabric ends with a Glossary. (Should be consistent between the two.)
- The Sawtooth documentation may be outdated and require an update to conform to the latest release (per Hardik)
Comparison of Fabric Vs. Cosmos Documentation
