Re: documenting desktop to web application

["Mike O." <obie1121 -at- yahoo -dot- com>]

Goober Writer wrote:
> It's very much possible to
> author an application for the web that functions like
> any other application.

True, but
1. Nobody ever does, and
2. They probably shouldn't, and
3. If they do, they are probably MS-only (not cross-browser).

Web apps require new UI patterns, in my opinion.  I don't think you can
really write a cross-browser app without adopting new access models for the
UI.

In the last few years I've had three different small jobs doing traditional
user manuals for web applications. I did them of course, but if I had my
choice I would rather have documented those apps with a combination of good
application architectuire, good UI design, and some minimal online help (no
printed book).

Case in point: Microsoft has various ways to make a web app look like a
traditional Windows app; for example they can pop up a native Windows dialog
instead of an HTML page. Or they can embed an ActiveX control in a single
page, so the actual form and data presented keep flopping around dynamically
while the page name stays the same (try documenting that!).

Mike O.



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