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Star Ferdinand wonders: <<Is there a generally accepted distinction between
"publications" and "documentation" in a software development environment, or
are the terms considered to be synonymous?>>
Documentation is one of several possible forms of publication, and
specifically, the form whose goal is to document how something works. Other
forms of publication: marketing and specification documents, white papers,
etc. Note that none of these is formally what you'd consider
"documentation".
<<software project managers in my company seem to be more familiar with the
term "documentation.">>
The most important definition to learn is the one that your boss and
colleagues are using: doesn't so much matter if it's wrong, so long as all
of you agree on the definition and know what you're trying to produce. Of
course, if it's the wrong word and they want to use it for an audience that
knows the right word, then you've got a problem: your colleagues may not
want to learn a new word, even if it's necessary to communicate clearly with
your audience.
--Geoff Hart, geoff-h -at- mtl -dot- feric -dot- ca
(try ghart -at- videotron -dot- ca if you get no response)
Forest Engineering Research Institute of Canada
580 boul. St-Jean
Pointe-Claire, Que., H9R 3J9 Canada
Vah! Denuone Latine loquebar? Me ineptum. Interdum modo elabitur. (Oh! Was I
speaking Latin again? Silly me. Sometimes it just sort of slips
out.)--Anonymous
