| The mid-march date is a projection of when the work will be complete.
It is not an announcement date to be discussed with customers.
Internal order numbers will be posted when internally available,
and external order numbers when a product has been approved,
scheduled, and announced. Although program committed in April,
dates have never been approved for external consumption.
Be forewarned that the size of online documentation suggests that
it will not generally be distributed over the network (at least
not VMS), so you'll want to plan on CDROM if you want access to
this.
The net distribution strategy is already strained, and increasing
the load by a factor of 10 (a good rules of thumb for OLD) is a
rather frightening thought. CD is cheaper than geo-birds.
- greg
|
|
****** ANNOUNCING ******
VMS Online Documentation Library on Compact Disc
___________________________________________________________
Library of books for use with the DECwindows Bookreader
including over 30,000 pages of high-quality text and
graphics.
+ VMS extended documentation set
+ VMS DECwindows documentation set
+ VAX FORTRAN documentation set
+ VAX DBMS preview documentation
___________________________________________________________
Introduction
The VMS Online Documentation Library compact disc is one of the
ways that the Software Business Technologies program provides
effective solutions for enhancing the distribution, access, and
management of Digital software and documentation. This online
documentation library is a companion to the VMS Consolidated
Software Distribution compact disc, and both offerings are
released six times per year (See Sales Update, March 20,1989
for more details about the software offering.
Description
The VMS Online Documentation Library, consisting of several
documentation sets formatted for retrieval by the VMS DECwindows
Bookreader, is available on March 20, 1989. The Bookreader is
an out-of-the-box DECwindows application that is included with
the VMS Version 5.1 release. Digital intends to provide support
for the Bookreader on the entire family of DECwindows platforms
as part of the ongoing DECwindows program. At this time,
however, Digital does not support online documentation on
character cell terminals that do not support the DECwindows
protocol.
Since online documentation is, by definition, software (in the
sense that it executes as code on a computer), access to the
VMS and VMS Layered Products online documentation is granted as
part of every user's VMS software license, beginning with VMS
Version 5.1. Customers can automatically read any VMS product's
online documentation for which they have registered a
corresponding software Product Authorization Key (PAK). For
example, a PAK registered for FORTRAN software will allow users
to access the FORTRAN online documentation automatically.
In addition, by registering the VMS BOOKBROWSER PAK, included
at no extra charge on every VMS Online Documentation Library
compact disc, customers have access to all of the online docu-
mentation provided on that disc. Instructions for setting up
the compact disc and registering the VMS BOOKBROWSER PAK are
included in the cover letter for the VMS Online Documentation
Library compact disc.
The March VMS Online Documentation Library disc contains the
following documentation sets:
+ VMS Extended Documentation Set (Version 5.1)
+ VMS DECwindows Documentation Set
+ VAX FORTRAN Documentation Set
+ VAX DBMS Preview Documentation
The compact disc is pre-formatted for online use so that no
additional installation is required. Once the compact disc has
been properly mounted, the online documentation files can be
accessed by multiple users simultaneously using the DECwindows
Bookreader.
The Bookreader provides a unique user productivity tool and
a quick and simple method of access to online documentation.
Bookreader features include:
+ Multi window, multi book display
+ Integrated text and graphics
+ Mouse selection of objects
+ Table-of-contents access
+ Index access
+ Next page/previous page
+ Next topic/previous topic
+ Scrolling bar for scanning text
+ Automated cross-referencing
+ Library of books and bookshelves
+ Online help
Ordering, Availability, and Price
At this time, the VMS Online Documentation Library compact disc
is available only as a separately purchased a la carte product,
and not under update service. The name and order number for the
March edition of the disc are:
External (Customer) Orders --
VMS Online Documentation Library-March 1989 QA-VYRAA-G8
(MLP $895)
Internal Orders --
VMS Online Documentation Library-March 1989 AI-NC68A-BE
(Internal transer aprox. $50)
A new compact disc will be available every other month, and,
over the next several months, will contain additional layered
product documentation sets, as well as any updates to the docu-
mentation already released. The next disc is scheduled for early
May.
What Customers Need
In order to use the VMS Online Documentation Library, customers
need:
+ VAXstation processor
+ VMS software Version 5.1 (or later) with DECwindows installed
+ CDROM reader (either RRD50 or RRD40 model, depending on the
CPU bus)
+ VMS Online Documentation Library Compact Disc
The CDROM reader can be purchased separately (for instance,
the RRD50 CDROM reader with Q-bus controller included sells for
$1325 - please contact Anne Blanchard (DTN 291-9624) for more
information about CDROM readers). By attaching the CDROM reader
either to a single CPU, to a CPU resident in a VAXcluster system,
or to a CPU in a network, a VAXstation customer can access the
online documentation using the DECwindows Bookreader application.
Multiple users (or VAXstations) can access a single online
documentation disc simultaneously.
If customers prefer, they can copy all of the files included
on the VMS Online Documentation Library compact disc to another
(magnetic) disk from which users can also access the files using
the DECwindows Bookreader. Accessing the online documentation
files from a magnetic disk may provide only a marginal increase
in performance, and this depends on the number of simultaneous
users.
Customer Benefits
Online documentation provides several benefits to customers.
+ Access to a library of Digital's technical documentation
+ Compact storage containing thousands of pages of text and
graphics
+ Software designed to maximize the information retrieval
capabilities
+ Increased integration of documentation with software
+ Rapid access to all documentation by all users
+ Access to latest version of manuals
Digital has always produced high-quality technical documenta-
tion. Now Digital is providing the same excellent documentation
in the most innovative and convenient fashion.
Competition
Digital leads the industry in providing a consolidated library
of technical documentation on CDROM for use with an online
Bookreader application. Other vendors, such as Apollo, Sun,
and Symbolics offer online documentation for their systems.
However, their documentation is not distributed on CDROM, nor
does it include the extensive use of online graphics represented
in the Digital documentation sets. Hewlett-Packard and MicroSoft
have also distributed a limited set of documentation products
on CDROM, but only Digital combines the advantages of CDROM
delivery with the innovative DECwindows interface to provide a
superior user productivity tool on line. The technology and
information offered by Digital are unique, and equally important,
Digital has it now!
________________________________________________________________
For more information contact:
Marian R. Weisenfeld
VMS Base Systems Platform Engineering
DTN: 381-1469
MS: ZKO1-3/J35
VAXMAIL: BLUMON::WEISENFELD
________________________________________________________________
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