Season of Docs project supporting newcomers and perl docs team
Thu, 30-Sep-2021 by
Nic Evans
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<, which is funded through Google’s Season of Docs. The project was [announced](https://news.perlfoundation.org/post/perl-gsod-2021) and began in May. As planned, it is expected to complete before the end of November.
Technical writer and communications specialist, [Khawar Latif Khan](https://www.linkedin.com/in/khawarlatifkhan/) is working in stages and has completed a full content audit alongside members of the community who have helped to test and review the documents, followed by a gap analysis, reviewing what is missing and where documents should be held.
Khawar began work on the project in mid-May. He says: “I was intrigued by the project. I spent some time getting familiar with perl and saw a lot of good content that needed organisation. Jason McIntosh, Dan Book and I sat together and looked at the problems users were facing and this helped me understand the limitations of perl.doc. There are more than 240 documents on perl.doc. The major aim is to create a roadmap for the future. Divide what is required into projects and sub projects, assigning tasks so we have a user-friendly picture of the documentation of perl.”
Jason McIntosh, Project Manager for Google Season of Docs, says: “I think the project will work really well and I see it leading to a lot of projects for the docs team which will have its work cut out for it in the best way.”
Not only that, it is hoped that the project will be beneficial for newcomers to perl. There may be some new users who would look at the data as it is now and be put off trying out more in perl. This project will hopefully encourage them to stick with it and see just how great perl is.
Jason says: “A large part of this project is about reorganising the data set, making it easier for everyone to look for documents and information, in particular this will be a great benefit for newcomers who might find the existing data set quite daunting.”
Khawar experienced this himself saying: “Initially, I was confused where to begin but now I have started it is interesting. I love the project. I enjoy the feedback I am getting, especially from Jason. He has been really helpful and supportive throughout the process.”
Jason says: “Khawar is a delight to work with. At the end of this project, he will be one of the most familiar people in the world with perl documentation. It has been of real value to go outside of the perl community, to get someone who has an objective viewpoint. We’re fortunate he was available.”
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