source: trunk/doc/src/docbook/overviewdoc/resources.xml @ 3304

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<chapter id="resources" chunked="0">
  <?dbhtml dir="resources"?>
  <title>Resources</title>
  <para>
    There are several resources available for those who are using BASE 2 or have some other
    kind of interested in the BASE 2 project. This chapter contains information about those
    resources and also some short instructions on how to use each
    one of them.
  </para>
  <sect1 id="resources.home_page">
    <title>BASE project site</title>
    <para>
      The BASE project site is located at
      <ulink url='http://base.thep.lu.se'>http://base.thep.lu.se</ulink>.
      Here is a lot of useful information about the project and the program, e.g.
      documentation/manuals, download-pages, contact information and much more. The most
      important parts of the page are covered in this section.
    </para>
    <sect2 id="resources.home_page.download">
      <title>Download</title>
      <para>
        The download page is accessed from the download section, on the home page, by
        following the link to
        <guilabel><ulink url='http://base.thep.lu.se/wiki/DownloadPage'
          >Download Page</ulink></guilabel>. 
        From this page you can download BASE 2 releases as packaged tar.gz
        files or checkout the source code directly from the Subversion repository. 
        See the separate parts on the web page to get more information how to 
        proceed with each one of them.
        
        <variablelist>
          <varlistentry>
            <term>Packaged BASE 2 releases</term>
            <listitem>
              <para>
                Both source-packages and binary-packages are available for each release
                of the program.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>
          <varlistentry>
            <term>Repository access</term>
            <listitem>
              <para>
                With this option the visitor can get the source code directly from
                Subversion. There are at least three different version that are
                available to checkout from the repository.
                <itemizedlist>
                  <listitem>
                    <para>
                      The latest production release. This will give you
                      the same source code as one of the packaged
                      releases.
                    </para>
                  </listitem>
                  <listitem>
                    <para>
                      The latest non-released bugfix branch. Use this if
                      you are affected by a bug that has been fixed but not
                      yet released. 
                    </para>
                  </listitem>
                  <listitem>
                    <para>
                      Bleeding edge of the software, which is the latest
                      revision of the program. The code is not guaranteed to
                      work correctly and it is recommended to backup important
                      data in the database before updating. Use this at your own
                      risk, we can't guarantee that you will be able to upgrade
                      the installation to another version or release.
                    </para>
                  </listitem>
                </itemizedlist>
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>
        </variablelist>
      </para>
    </sect2>
    <sect2 id="resources.home_page.tickets">
      <title>Ticket system</title>

      <para>
        A ticket is a note about a bug or a new feature that has not yet been
        implemented. To show the list of outstanding tickets use the
        <guibutton><ulink url="http://base.thep.lu.se/query"
          >View Tickets</ulink></guibutton> button on BASE 2's home-page. 
        It is a good idea to have a look at this list before reporting a bug
        or requesting a new feature. Perhaps someone has registered the issue as a ticket
        already. This list can also be used to see how the BASE 2 development is proceeding
        and when some particular request is planed to be fixed.
      </para>

      <para>
        To report bugs, add feature requests, and comment an existing ticket, you needs to
        be logged in to the trac environment. This is done by clicking on the 
        <guilabel>login</guilabel>-link to
        the right in the upper corner on the home page. The <guilabel>Feedback</guilabel>-section, 
        also on the home page, contains more information how to proceed.
      </para>
    </sect2>
    <sect2 id="resources.home_page.roadmap">
      <title>Roadmap</title>

      <para>
        The roadmap of BASE 2 is accessed from the 
        <guibutton><ulink url="http://base.thep.lu.se/roadmap"
          >Roadmap</ulink></guibutton> button on the home page. This page 
        contains information about the plans for future development, including
        the tickets that should be fixed for each milestone. Usually, only
        the next upcoming release has a date set. The <guilabel>BASE 2.x</guilabel>
        milestone is used to collected tickets that we think should be fixed
        but are less important or require too much work. Contributions are welcome.
      </para>

    </sect2>
    <sect2 id="resources.home_page.documentation">
      <title>Documentation</title>
      <para>
        All documentation that are associated with the project can be found in the
        Documentation-section on the start page.
        <variablelist>
          <varlistentry>
            <term>Manuals</term>
            <listitem>
              <para>
                Useful information for the common user and the administrator, like
                user documentation, installation instructions and administration
                guide. These different documents will eventually be replaced with
                this document when it includes the corresponding texts.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>
          <varlistentry>
            <term>Specifications</term>
            <listitem>
              <para>
                This part contains specification for the separate divisions of the
                project, such as core specification, web-client specification and
                more.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>
          <varlistentry>
            <term>Developer information</term>
            <listitem>
              <para>
                Information for those who are interested to be involved in the
                development of BASE 2.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>
          <varlistentry>
            <term>Future development</term>
            <listitem>
              <para>
                Link to a list of ideas for future development that aren't covered
                and monitored in the milestones on the road map page. In other words
                - ideas that are not planned to be done within nearest 6 to 12
                month.
              </para>
            </listitem>
          </varlistentry>
        </variablelist>
      </para>
    </sect2>
  </sect1>
  <sect1 id="resources.coreplugins">
    <title>Core plug-in configurations</title>
    <para>
      In the section called <guilabel>Plug-ins</guilabel> at on the home page, is a
      link to
      <ulink
        url="http://base.thep.lu.se/chrome/site/doc/admin/plugin_configuration/coreplugins.html">
        a page that lists the core plug-ins</ulink>.
      All plug-ins that are included in the installation of
      BASE 2 are listed on this page, some together with one or several examples of suitable
      configuration files. These configuration files can be downloaded and imported with the
      plug-in configuration importer in BASE 2.
    </para>
  </sect1>
  <sect1 id="resources.plugins">
    <title>BASE plug-ins site</title>
    <para>
      Plug-ins which aren't included in the installation of BASE 2, have their own site,
      called
      <ulink url="http://lev.thep.lu.se/trac/baseplugins">BASE plug-ins web site</ulink>
      which includes a download page for submitted none-core plug-ins. Here is also
      information how to become a plug-in developer, with commit access to the repository, and
      how to submit a plug-in to the download page.
    </para>
  </sect1>
  <sect1 id="resources.demo_server">
    <title>Demo server</title>
    <para>
      There is a demo server up running for anyone who wants to explore BASE 2 without having
      to install it. Follow the link on BASE 2's home page to the demo server or go directly
      to
      <ulink url="http://base2.thep.lu.se:8080/demo/">
        http://base2.thep.lu.se:8080/demo/
      </ulink>
    </para>
    <para>
      Use
      <userinput>base2</userinput> as login and
      <userinput>base2</userinput> as password
      to login to the demo server. The base2 user account has read privileges to all data on
      the demo server and can view almost every list page. If extended privileges are wanted,
      please contact the administrator of the demo server (see the bottom of the browser).
    </para>
  </sect1>
  <sect1 id="resources.mailing_lists">
    <title>Mailing lists</title>
    <para>
      BASE project has three different mailing lists available for subscription. Visit the
      <ulink url="http://base.thep.lu.se/wiki/MailingLists">mailing list page</ulink>
      to get more information about each one of the mailing lists. All posted mails are saved
      in an archive for each list, it can therefore be a good idea to have a look here before
      posting a new thread.
    </para>
    <para>
      These are the available mailing lists, more details about each one of them can be found
      on the mailing list page.
      <itemizedlist>
        <listitem>
          <para>basedb-users</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>basedb-devel</para>
        </listitem>
        <listitem>
          <para>basedb-announce</para>
        </listitem>
      </itemizedlist>
    </para>
  </sect1>
  <sect1 id="resources.irc_channel">
    <title>IRC channel</title>
    <para>
      There is a recently started irc channel on the FreeNode network where real-time BASE
      discussion can take place twentyfour-seven. Use
      <userinput>#basedb</userinput>
      to connect to the channel on
      <userinput>irc.freenode.net</userinput>
      or try to access
      <ulink url="irc://irc.freenode.net/basedb"></ulink>
      from a browser that supports IRC URLs
    </para>
    <para>
      This is currently only a trial but will perhaps be extended depending on the interest of
      using this discussion forum.
    </para>
    <important>
      <title>Mailing lists are still #1</title>
      <para>Use the mailing lists to get in contact with the development team.</para>
    </important>
  </sect1>
</chapter>