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Last active December 15, 2015 19:59
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Where are we now?

Pages that are on MDN

  • The landing page: this does have links to most devtools. But:
    1. some links are missing
    2. it has many links that look quite out of date: we should go through and figure out which should be removed, marked as obsolete, or just moved somewhere less prominent
    3. it is just a list of links: it should present something about what the devtools are, what they do, why you should care.
    4. it should look nicer
  • Page Inspector: the UI has changed, screenshots need updating.

  • Web Console: are the helper commands up to date? Helper commands reference is duplicated at https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/docs/Tools/Web_Console/Helpers. Examples would be good.

  • Scratchpad: documentation for scope "Content/Browser" is misleading. Needs examples, for content and chrome.

  • Style Editor: seems reasonably up to date. Examples needed, though.

  • JavaScript Debugger: some UI wording updates are needed. The example is Firefox OS and will rot. Probably need a better separation between specifically remote debugging and generic "using the debugger" stuff.

  • Responsive Design View: OK, just minor edits.

  • Using the Source Editor: are these commands up to date?

  • Developer Toolbar: screenshot's out of date. Docs here all need revising and improving, especially those on customization. They're a bit rough.

  • Simulator: is this the only Simulator documentation on MDN? We should expand this and (?) move it under devtools.

  • Devtools API: this has a big scary warning and is not linked off the landing page. What is its status, now? Is the DevTools API for Firefox developers only? Or is it accessible to add-on developers?

Pages that aren't on MDN

  • Remote Debugger: remote debugging protocol/API are not documented in MDN at all? Do they need to be, at this point? Who's the audience for it? Firefox developers, or can web developers/add-on developers profitably use it?

  • Toolbox: there's no documentation for the toolbox. I think this should be the organizing principle and entry point for many of the other tools.

Questions

What on the landing page should not be on the landing page? What's obsolete?

Are there any other big pieces that aren't on the landing page, that should be?

What's the current status and future plans for DevTools API and the debugging protocol/remote debugging. Is this something we want in MDN now, or at some point in the future?

Is there anything else coming along that we should plan the docs for?

Is there anything specific on extensibility/dev tools as add-ons, that we should plan docs for?

What are the priorities?

Short-term

In order, I'd say:

  • Documentation for the simulator: work out what's needed here and add the most important stuff.

  • A better landing page: work out what we want to promote/un-promote there and add context about developer tools.

  • Documentation for the toolbox to tie Page Inspector, Style Editor, Web Console &c together

  • More examples, for everything, and examples that won't rot.

  • Some standalone documentation for remotability, separate from the specific tools that support it.

  • Devtools API documentation, if it's intended for, and ready for use by, more than internal customers

Longer term

  • Try to figure out a way to document the devtools in the context of a developer workflow. The current docs don't always do a great job of showing how a developer can use the tools together to solve a specific problem. Walkthrough tutorials? People always talk about videos when I mention this, but I hate watching screencasts, because I can't control the rate at which information is presented to me, and it's impossible to search. Is that just me? I had a suggestion that we could use Popcorn to make something that you can play like a video but is browsable too, which might work.

  • Work out how to present the devtools as something that's not necessarily tied to Firefox (the browser), but as its own product that could be used to debug things that support the protocol (including FxOS devices, naturally).

  • Work out how to present devtools extensibility: how to extend the devtools for yourself, and how to find and use devtools that other people have developed.

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