[sldev] Making the build instructions better

[Mike Monkowski]

I agree that per-platform pages are the better choice.  I also agree 
that the primary focus should be on the first-time builders.

I am one of those developers that work on only one platform and only 
update instructions for that platform.  I have no idea what works on 
Linux or Macs, so I would not presume to tell someone what to do there.

If the instructions were combined, I'd probably update them by adding a 
"with MS VS2005 Express" caveat to the paragraph. As it is, I'm not even 
sure that instructions for VS2005 Express work for VS2008.  I consider 
those separate platforms.  I hope (but have no way of verifying) that 
instructions for VS2005 Express work for VS2005.

Mike

Alissa Sabre wrote:
> I believe it's best to create per-platform pages that contain all
> information appropriate for the platform.  Also, each
> platform-specific page should show very detailed step by step
> instruction of the basic build option.  All platform-specific pages
> are organized in a same format, and information common to all
> platforms should be in all platform pages in exactly same words.
> 
> The intention is to give first-time builders a straightforward
> instruction that works, without going many pages back and forth.  I
> also assume that most of the builders start working on one platform.
> And *if* he/she is successfull on his/her first platform, he/she *may*
> start building on his/her second platform.  The similarity of the
> platform pages helps understanding which parts are same and which
> parts are not.
> 
> In a past, I was updating the build instruction pages based on the
> above consideration, by small and small, but it was unsuccessful.  I
> at last understood that most of the wiki updators work only on one
> platform, and he/she just updates his/her platform page without being
> bothered by pages for other platforms...  *sigh*