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Subject:Re: Online Help for Java Apps From:Jon Steiner <jons -at- AVI -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 2 May 1997 08:37:01 -0400
I just finished this!
The JDK has its own utility, Javadoc, which documents Java APIs in HTML.
I didn't know this when I started, so I ended up doing things the hard
way. The very hard way.
I used RoboHelp to create an API reference for our class library and
then used RoboHelp's HTML converter to convert this WinHelp file to
NetHelp.
I included an index HTML page in place of any kind of search engine,
because NetHelp doesn't have this functionality yet.
I developed the User's Guide in Word97, and saved it in .doc and .html
formats. I have to say that Word97, once you learn its shortcomings,
saves files as HTML rather well.
We have 2 versions of our software product, the Unix version (in a tar
file) and a Win32 version (in a self extracting exe). If you want the
HTML, you have to get the tar file. If you want the WinHelp, you have to
get the Win32 version.
This is the only solution I have come up with so far. It's a kludge, but
I look forward to NetHelp having a client-side search engine installed
in the next NetHelp SDK.
The product is known as ObjectGraphics for Java, and it is a vector
class library for Java. It's pretty high level (i.e. not a GUI), so you
can't really do anything with it by itself, but it is intended as a
building block for other applications.
If you find out any type of Java version of "RoboHelp" please let me
know.
I would be highly doubtful that this exists, because Java is still a
pretty shaky language.
--Jon
------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------
Jon Steiner
Applied Visions, Inc.
6 Bayview Avenue
Northport, NY 11768
(516) 754 4920 x 47
JonS -at- avi -dot- com http://www.avi.com
"What if there were no hypothetical questions?" - Anon.
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