[svnbook commit] r2833 - trunk/src/en/book
sussman
noreply at red-bean.com
Sat Aug 11 16:21:23 CDT 2007
Author: sussman
Date: Sat Aug 11 16:21:22 2007
New Revision: 2833
Log:
Clarify explanation of top-down vs. bottom-up learning.
* src/en/book/ch00-preface.xml
(svn.preface.howread): Add paragraph about top-down vs. bottom-up
learning. I'm tired of talking about this subject with in every
conversation I have with people about our book. I think it's useful
meta-philosophy.. :-)
* src/en/book/appa-quickstart.xml
(svn.intro): Remove terminology from here, now that it's mentioned
in the Preface. Simplify the appendix introduction, wrap the 2nd
paragraph in a <warning>, so impatient people actually see it.
Modified:
trunk/src/en/book/appa-quickstart.xml
trunk/src/en/book/ch00-preface.xml
Modified: trunk/src/en/book/appa-quickstart.xml
==============================================================================
--- trunk/src/en/book/appa-quickstart.xml (original)
+++ trunk/src/en/book/appa-quickstart.xml Sat Aug 11 16:21:22 2007
@@ -3,19 +3,18 @@
<title>Subversion Quick-Start Guide</title>
- <para>Some people have trouble absorbing a new technology by
- reading the sort of <quote>top down</quote> approach provided by
- this book. This appendix contains a very short introduction to
- Subversion, and is designed to give <quote>bottom up</quote>
- learners a fighting chance. If you prefer to learn by
- experimentation, the following demonstration will get you up and
- running. Along the way, we give links to the relevant chapters
- of this book.</para>
+ <para>If you're eager to get Subversion up and running (and you
+ enjoy learning by experimentation), this chapter will show you how
+ to create a repository, import code, and then check it back out
+ again as a working copy. Along the way, we give links to the
+ relevant chapters of this book.</para>
+ <warning>
<para>If you're new to the entire concept of version control or to
the <quote>copy-modify-merge</quote> model used by both CVS and
Subversion, then you should read <xref linkend="svn.basic"/>
before going any further.</para>
+ </warning>
<!-- ================================================================= -->
Modified: trunk/src/en/book/ch00-preface.xml
==============================================================================
--- trunk/src/en/book/ch00-preface.xml (original)
+++ trunk/src/en/book/ch00-preface.xml Sat Aug 11 16:21:22 2007
@@ -100,11 +100,31 @@
<sect1 id="svn.preface.howread">
<title>How to Read this Book</title>
- <para>This book aims to be useful to people of widely different
- backgrounds—from people with no previous experience in
- version control to experienced system administrators. Depending
- on your own background, certain chapters may be more or less
- important to you. The following can be considered a
+ <para>Technical books always face a certain dilemma: whether to
+ cater to <firstterm>top-down</firstterm>
+ or <firstterm>bottom-up</firstterm> learners. A top-down
+ learner prefers to read or skim documentation, getting a large
+ overview of how the system works; only then does she actually
+ start using the software. A bottom-learner is a <quote>learn by
+ doing</quote> person, someone who just wants to dive into the
+ software and figure it out as she goes, referring to book
+ sections when necessary. Most books tend to be written for one
+ type of person or the other, and this book is undoubtedly biased
+ towards top-down learners. (And if you're actually reading this
+ section, you're probably already a top-down learner yourself!)
+ However, if you're a bottom-up person, don't despair. While the
+ book may be laid out as a broad survey of Subversion topics, the
+ contents of each section tends to be heavy with specific
+ examples that you can try-by-doing. For the impatient folks who
+ just want to get going, you can jump right to
+ <xref linkend="svn.intro"/>.</para>
+
+ <para>Regardless of your learning style, this book aims to be
+ useful to people of widely different backgrounds—from
+ people with no previous experience in version control to
+ experienced system administrators. Depending on your own
+ background, certain chapters may be more or less important to
+ you. The following can be considered a
<quote>recommended reading list</quote> for various types of
readers:</para>
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