Re: postgresql book - practical or something newer?

Christopher Browne wrote:
> On Jan 31, 2008 4:40 PM, Guy Rouillier <guyr-ml1(at)burntmail(dot)com> wrote:
>
>> Robert Treat wrote:
>>
>>
>>> Just so you know, I approached OReally about writing a PostgreSQL Cookbook,
>>> and they turned it down. They did offer me some other titles, but those don't
>>> seem to have gone anywhere.
>>>
>> As someone else pointed out in this thread, very much of what you need
>> to know has been previously discussed at one point; the hard part is
>> finding it.
>>
>> What we need is for some of the people with the big brains ;) to come up
>> with some new kind of "hyperbook". That would be the documentation in
>> some form similar to what it is today, but somehow connected to the
>> discussions that happen in the mailing lists. That way, when something
>> really insightful or helpful gets said in the mailing lists, it can get
>> connected to a particular place in the documentation. Then over time,
>> the doc maintainers can take the best of those and incorporate them
>> directly into the docs at the appropriate place.
>>
>
> The trouble is that this is nearly as much trouble as actually writing
> a book, and doesn't provide a clear incentive for people to put in the
> effort of making it happen.
>
> There's the problem (and it is, to a degree, truly a problem) that the
> "postgreSQL book" market hasn't been lucrative enough to draw people
> into writing books. And honestly, it *needs* to be more lucrative.
> If I'm thinking about alternative uses for my spare time, writing does
> not appear to be a particularly profitable use.
>
> Finding a "poor man's way" to generate a "hyperbook" actually needs
> much the same sorts of skills and efforts, even though it probably
> provides those that provide the effort with *less* benefits.
>
Personally I'm surprised that the last couple responses seem to center
around not being able to make much money off of it. I agree that it
would require some time investment, but so did building PG in the first
place. Countless people have already sacrificed hours upon hours of
their time with no return on their investment except pride in their work
and a better overall product for everybody to use. I'm not a talented
enough programmer to contribute to the code, but in this way I can do
something to give back to the pg community.

--
Tom Hart
IT Specialist
Cooperative Federal
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