Re: BPCS Docs - BPCS OVERVIEW MANUAL FROM DS

[fkolmann@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]

If any of the following seems personal please accept my apologies in
advance.
I mean no offence, I just find it difficult to comes to terms with
undocumented software. 

Assetguru@aol.com wrote:

> Hi,
>
> There has  been  lots dicussion  about lack of  DETAILED  BPCS DOCUMENTATION
> The reason its not out there because there is no market for such a product.

You dont mean that after we pay $nnnnnn for BPCS that it is too much to
expect
to get documentation with it. I expect more from games software I buy
for my children.
When was the last time you bought PC software without a manual?

> It will take years for a TEAM OF REAL BPCS GURU (Technical and Business) plus
> a huge investment in Hardware(AS/400 PC's) and Software(BPCS C/S) to put
> something like this togather... and how  much money will somebody be willing
> to pay for something like this????.... It has to be huge considering the
> available window (till the next release comes out), limited market and the
> effort involved. 

Ummm , a small point,  I thought that when one wrote a program one
produced
documentation to go with it, surely SSA has the documentation,  or is it
true that NONE REALLY
EXISTS.

On the other hand some of our inhouse documentation is practically
worthless because
it is incomplete and inaccurate so you have to go back to the code.  It
is a rare bird that can
write code that works well, is simple, is clear, and can also write a
good clear specification, and a user guide.
My point is once a manual is produced it is quite often the first thing
that is
pushed aside and overlooked and then the law 'WAEFRTFM' (when all else
fails etc.) is invoked, but it does mean that the documentation be both
good and understandable.
(As an aside IBM must be praised, the manuals they produce are in
general, good and understandable.)



> I  am co-author of AS/SET and I have toyed around with the
> idea of documenting AS/SET,  what has discouraged me is the fact that there
> is a very limited market and it is shrinking.

What AS/SET documentation did you have in mind.  I thought the stuff
under BPCSCS/DOC/ADK is
quite comprehensive.
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