Re: Automating docs compilation in the software build process

[dmbrown -at- brown-inc -dot- com]

David Handy wrote:
> 
> Has anyone had any experience doing this? Are there major snags?

Years ago in a former situation, all we delivered were WinHelp files, and we used this process.  Source files in VSS were checked out, compiled, and included in the resulting installer...all done automatically by the build process, which did exactly the same thing for the program itself.

It worked great, because--just as the developers did with the source code--we had already built and tested the docs prior to the build.

The advantage--especially with nightly development builds--was that we didn't have to take time to recompile every day before going home, but the latest help was always available with the new build every morning.

Snags didn't arise *because* we tested the heck out it.

By the way, I don't do the same thing with PDF, nowadays, because there are a couple of customizations to the finished PDF that have to be done manually.

--David 
 
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