RE: using 3rd-party books

["walden miller" <wmiller -at- vidiom -dot- com>]

[SM Rush wrote]
  >>can you reference the enclosed book in your own documentation
  >>(for example:  "to troubleshoot a socket connection, refer
  >>to XXX for Dummies, Chapter 10")?  What would be the drawbacks to that?

One huge drawback is shown by this example. It showcases the fact that your
manual is incomplete.

Added books (for resell or for bundling) should never be x-ref'd by the core
manuals.  If you x-ref them for vital information, then you need to write
the vital information yourself.  If you are providing some ancillary info in
the extra books, then a bibliographic listing is OK, but don't advertise
that someone else has the info that you don't want to write.

Another drawback is that out-of-book x-refs have a habit of biting you
somewhere down the road.  What happens if the x-ref'd book is updated and
chapter 10 no longer covers socket connections or what if you quit bundling
that book or ...

I like the idea of bundling, but only for ancillary information that is not
vital to running/using the software package you are providing.

walden


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