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What nobody tells you about documentation

PyCon AU · talk · Watch on YouTube

Software practice, open source & careersPython, Ruby & scripting languagesLiterature & writing craft

What it is

Daniele Procida's PyCon AU 2017 talk presents a system that divides documentation into four kinds, usually drawn as four quadrants. He explains why mixing them makes docs poor and how separating them improves writing.

Why Hacker News recommends it

HN recommends it as the best concise introduction to a practical framework for structuring documentation, the basis of what became Diataxis.

  • 3 people recommended it
  • 3 different months
  • 1 strong recommendations
  • first 2021, last 2024

What HN commenters said

  1. “I highly recommend Daniele Procida's talk about this”

    Taxonomy of four kinds of documentation

    MaxBarraclough, 2021-03 · Strong recommendation · in “The tree-based approach to organizing documentation sucks”

  2. “a good strategy for writing docs, based on four quadrants”

    Strategy for writing docs using four quadrants

    ivan_ah, 2022-03 · Recommendation · in “Ask HN: Which book can attract anyone towards your field of study?”

  3. “Anyone looking for a good system of producing documentation should check out”

    30-minute presentation of a documentation system

    O__________O, 2022-06 · Recommendation · in “How to avoid being a secretary for engineers (2018)”

Excerpts from Hacker News comments, linked to the originals. Summaries and labels were written by a language model from those comments.

Topics: documentation, diataxis, technical writing, tutorials, pycon

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