The
asciidoc.org site has
served as the landing page for the original AsciiDoc project
for two decades. The time has come to align the site with the
current state and direction of AsciiDoc. The aim of this
effort is to present AsciiDoc in the best light and to provide
an entry point into the AsciiDoc ecosystem for seasoned users
and newcomers alike.
The AsciiDoc WG is excited to announce the relaunch of the
asciidoc.org
website!
The idea of creating a shorthand format for DocBook named
“AsciiDoc” was first conceived by Stuart Rackham in 2002. Now,
two decades later, the evolved AsciiDoc language is being
standardized at the Eclipse Foundation under the direction of
the AsciiDoc Working Group (AsciiDoc WG) following the Eclipse
Foundation Specification Process (EFSP).
As part of this initiative, supervision of the
asciidoc.org
domain and site has been transferred to the AsciiDoc WG. The
site in its previous state was narrowly focused on the
AsciiDoc.py project, the predecessor of modern AsciiDoc. This
situation was not only confusing to visitors, it was a missed
opportunity to present AsciiDoc as we know it today and where
it's headed. The AsciiDoc WG has been collaborating for several
quarters to address this situation.
Again in collaboration with Ura Design, we developed a new
design and content for a single-page site, which Guillaume
Grossetie then transformed into a working static site. The
source of the site is managed as an open source project in the
asciidoc.org
repository (hosted on Eclipse's GitLab instance).
The purpose of the relaunched site is to serve as an
implementation-agnostic entry point into the AsciiDoc ecosystem.
For visitors of the site who arrive curious to learn about
AsciiDoc, we want to draw them in, engage them, educate them,
and provide jumping off points where they can find more
information.
The site will host the canonical description of AsciiDoc,
showcase and advocate for the technology, and provide a roadmap
to connect visitors with key resources. Among those resources
are links to the AsciiDoc WG and language specification project,
the language documentation, and other tools and resources,
including language processors.
Following the canonical description, the site features the
member organizations on the AsciiDoc WG Specification
Committee along with other organizations that have played a
key role in AsciiDoc's history. It then goes on to showcase
several notable uses of AsciiDoc to give visitors an
impression of what can be achieved with AsciiDoc.
The new site aims to set AsciiDoc apart from other markup
languages by providing a single, curated source where newcomers
can start exploring the language and ecosystem. To that end, the
site features an interactive editor (powered by Asciidoctor.js)
that allows visitors to experience AsciiDoc without having to
install any software, as shown here:
The site also provides side-by-side comparisons with other
popular documentation languages to help visitors see how
AsciiDoc stacks up and saves you typing.
Finally, the site provides a link to a new directory of software
and resources that support the AsciiDoc ecosystem named
Awesome AsciiDoc.
This directory (still in its early stages) is curated by the
AsciiDoc WG as a service to the AsciiDoc community. Its intent
is to promote AsciiDoc and related technologies by identifying
projects that support and benefit the AsciiDoc ecosystem.
Please
note that an entry in this directory does not equate to an
endorsement that the software is AsciiDoc compatible as
defined by the Eclipse Foundation Specification Process (EFSP)
for the AsciiDoc Language.
The new site will continue to redirect well-indexed URLs that
are specific to AsciiDoc.py to
https://asciidoc-py.github.io
to minimize disruption for that project.
Following this launch, the AsciiDoc WG will continue to
explore ways to make this site a useful resource for the
AsciiDoc community. If you have feedback, please feel free to
share it in this thread or by submitting an issue to the
issue tracker for the site.
Best Regards,
-Dan
--
Dan Allen, Vice President | OpenDevise Inc.
Pronouns: he, him, his