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Guide For Updating the TCK User Documentation (Jakarta EE 9)

Ed Bratt edited this page Aug 12, 2020 · 1 revision

This is a rundown of the changes I've found necessary to revise the TCK user documentation to Jakarta EE 9. Interested writers are welcome to tackle these incrementally -- for example, just updating the user guide, or just update portions at a time.

User Guide File specific recommendations

Orientation

Source for the user guide is in jakartaee-tck/user_guides/<your-api>

The user guide documentation source is in: jakartaee-tck/user_guides/<your-api>/srv/main/jbake/content

There are a few other files you'll need to look at scattered about. I've listed some those that I've found in need of edits. You are welcome to ask around if you have questions. You may also want to look at the AsciiDoc user manual for information about formatting, etc.

You will need maven and git to accomplish this work though you won't need to know more than the most basic maven command: mvn clean install. I won't go into installing these, here. There are plenty of nice instruction sheets available -- just use your favorite Search tool and I'm sure you'll find competent advice.

Other than for the most simple changes, I would not recommend trying this work through the Git browser interface.

If you don't know basic GIT usage, I would recommend you first run through some on-line training for GIT. GitHub has some excellent resources. Again, your favorite search tool will quickly point you to competent, basic advice.

A workflow that I've found works for me is: Create a GH Fork under your Git User ID, Clone that to your local machine. Create a local branch and switch to it, make your changes in that branch. Commit and Push your changes back to your Github Fork, then submit a Pull Request from the branch in your GitHub fork through the GitHub browser UI. Once the PR has been accepted, you can remove the branch from your fork. This is one flow. There are lots of ways to accomplish this work.

One element I've found challenging is keeping my Fork and desktop Clone synchronized with other changes that are happening in the repository. You can refer to various instruction sheets about Git Remote and Git Upstream synchronization to keep your repository up to date.

It can become a bit confusing to new writers (and still is, to me) when you encounter merge conflicts. GIT will help you through all of this, but you need to be careful when you are merging your work over the top of someone else's. The good news is, for the most part, that doesn't happen much for this work.

Following are some specific things to look for in the user guide files. The documentation is split into .adoc files and .inc files. The intent was that most of the constant boiler plate material is in the .inc files and you don't need to edit the .adoc files, except for the title page.

jakartaee-tck/user_guides/<your-api>/pom.xml

Check the following tags:

Name

  • Correct title, Remove old acronyms, update version ID, etc.

Version

Status (Property should be blank for final revision)

DistributionManagement/site/url: scm:git:git@github.com:eclipse-ee4j/jakartaee-tck.git (I don't think this is actually used)

Since this is an xml file, be very careful when you make edits to this content. Always run mvn clean install afterword to make sure your local build still works.

jakartaee-tck/user_guides/<your-api>/src/main/jbake/templates/footer.ftl

  • Check copyright footer -- in most cases, after copyright date, add: ', 2020 ' (note leading comma, if there's already a second date, replace it if it is not 2020).

jakartaee-tck/user_guides/<your-api>/src/main/jbake/assets/_config.yml

Generally, I don't think this file is used. However for completeness:

jakartaee-tck/user_guides/<your-api>/src/main/jbake/content/attributes.conf

Update properties to match API, Specification, Etc.

TechnologyRI -- specificy project/product name and version (i.e. Eclipse GlassFish 6.0)

Look for anything "wombat" that is boilerplate text and should be replaced. In particular:

  • SpecificationInquiryList -- should be the -dev list of the Specification API project

Check TCKPackageName -- there should be no date text in the file-name. See here for a list of all TCK archives produced by this project.

.inc files for user guide

Scan through each .inc file and check for text that should be updated. In general, look for:

  • Reference Implementation, RI and replace with Compatible Implementation or CI (best to spell out Compatible Implementation (CI) the first time it's used in each file.
  • javax -> jakarta -- in most cases. There are examples where this should not change. Work with the API committer team if there are any doubts.
  • Many setup documents refer to legacy versions of Java and/or Java EE, or Java SE. You need to read them carefully to determine what needs to be changed. In general -- all enterprise Java references should be to Jakarta EE 9; for this release the TCKs are only verified on Java SE 8.
  • In many cases, text may be improved by using property names (i.e. refer to {TechnologyRI} instead of writing out Eclipse GlassFish 6; or use Java SE {SEversion} instead of Java SE 8.

Note, when you make substitutions, for text in headings, that are followed by a line with a string of heading control characters ('=', '~',  you'll know them when you see them), be sure that the number of these control characters matches the number of characters in the line preceding. If you see headings that don't look right and are followed by a line of this kind of character, it's probably because you replaced some text and the line-lengths don't match any more.

In general, I recommend you don't change text in any of the link target strings (these will generally look like a bunch of words concatenated by hyphens, enclosed in double square brackets '[[]]'). You are, of course welcome to do this, but check to make sure that any text elsewhere that points to the link target is also changed.

Additional comments on specific User Guide files

jakartaee-tck/user_guides/<your-api>/src/main/jbake/content/title.adoc

Update the Date, the copyright. Check for any other legacy text and update as needed. (Note to self, these should have been put in the property list.)

jakartaee-tck/user_guides/<your-api>/src/main/jbake/content/intro.adoc

This file contains the legacy platform list. I have been replacing these with an include directive:

include::platforms.inc[]

Add that file (platforms.inc), with git add

Put the tested platforms in that file. In most cases it will be a single line:

  • '* CentOS Linux 7'

Alternatively, just edit this file directly and we can make this change at another revision.

jakartaee-tck/user_guides/<your-api>/src/main/jbake/content/packages.inc

Verify items listed in this file are changed from javax to jakarta.

jakartaee-tck/user_guides/<your-api>/src/main/jbake/content/tck-packages.inc

Check that the right version numbers are listed. You can confirm them from the lib folder (here). If you know that packages are added or removed you may make those edits. For the most part, just check the versions match what is in the lib folder.

jakartaee-tck/user_guides/<your-api>/src/main/jbake/content/rebuild.inc

This file is used if the rebuild property in attributes.conf is set. If so, review and revise the content. This is rendered in the final document as Appendix B.

Other things to look for

jakartaee-tck/user_guides/<your-api>/src/main/jbake/content/faq.adoc

The original has "reference implementation" in one of the questions. If it hasn't been replaced, replace "reference" with "compatible".

Run the User Guide build

You may want to run a build, when you first set up your local repository. Certainly, when you are all done, or, whenever you want to look at what you have done. This should be easy. Use the mvn command to build the user guide.

cd to jakartaee-tck/user_guides/<your-api>

type: mvn clean install

You will see some warnings. As long as the end result is "BUILD SUCCESS" you can look at the newly rendered content.

Review the generated content

The final html render (.html files) is in: jakartaee-tck/user_guides/<your-api>/target/staging. The first file is toc.html. The PDF copy (.pdf file) is in: jakartaee-tck/<your-api>/target/generated-docs/

If you find content you would like to fix but aren't sure where it came from -- use file-name.html (from the browser) as the clue to find the correct .adoc file; in your local editor, open that same file with from the .adoc files in jakartaee-tck/user_guides/<your-api>/src/main/jbake/content. In most cases, text you need to change is in a .inc file, but not always. The .adoc files will show you which .inc file is used within the rendered text body.

I find using the generated pdf file is convenient for doing keyword searches across the whole document: javax, reference, ri, etc.

Files in other folders (not in User Guide)

jakartaee-tck/install/<your-api>/docs

Other documents are in jakartaee-tck/install/<your-api>/docs. Generally, there will be at least two files: index.html and something-ReleaseNotes.html.

Edit changes directly into these files with your favorite editor. Check your changes with your browser.

In general, I just use Git rename to change the Release Notes file to incorporate the new version number. Don't forget to update the URL links in index.html (and elsewhere) when you do that.

Assertions folder (jakartaee-tck/install/<your-api>/docs/assertions)

Advanced writers/developers only

These files contain very large tables. I think my best advice is to ignore these. If you feel competent, you can change the javax API references to jakarta. If you are feeling particularly brave, you can change the API package names to the new Jakarta API names. You will need to be careful that your substitution strings don't pattern match in the wrong columns. Changes should be limited to:

  • Title and Specification Name/version
  • javax->jakarta and new jakarta API name changes in the description column in both files
  • change javax to jakarta -- in the method field column in the javadoc assertion file.

Don't change anything any other column.

In a future release, these will likely be regenerated. There is a script that can generate these from the javadoc files. The Specification assertion list is generated by hand.

Bin folder (jakartaee-tck/install/<your-api>/bin)

Advanced developers/writers only

If you feel inclined, you may update the text comments of the various tx.jte files in jakartaee-tck/install/<your-api>/bin. In general, clarify language about the compatible implementation; remove references to a reference implementation; update the initial compatible implementation project/product name details.

Look in various txt files for javax, RI, or reference implementation strings.

Remember, if you change any file content you must update the copyright dates in the license header at the top.

Do not make changes in other files. If in doubt -- ask, or just leave it alone. You're always welcome to file an issue in the TCK project to remind the team to get back to whatever you've found.

I would recommend you work with the initial compatible implementation team to verify that any changes you have made to anything in the bin folder do not have an unintended consequence to the first CI.

Some example PRs

If you want to see the gory details, check out any of these PRs:

  • RESTful Web Services TCK user doc changes (#416)
  • JAX-WS TCK Doc changes (#380)
  • Servlet TCK Doc changes (#389)
  • Authorization 2.0 TCK Doc changes (#406)

Feel free to comment on these, ask questions, or comment on this document.

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