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| phil parry |
 Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 1:28 am Post subject: IBM Documentation in PDF Format |
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Newbie
Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 7
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Hello
Please complete our survey (with one question!) at:
https://www.ibm.com/survey/oid/wsb.dll/s/ag22f
I'm afraid the comment field in the survey is a bit short - so please enter any you wish to make as a response here (we are monitoring them!), or email me direct: phil_parry@uk.ibm.com
Thanks
Last edited by phil parry on Wed Apr 08, 2009 8:31 am; edited 1 time in total |
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| dgolding |
| Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 3:36 am Post subject: |
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Yatiri
Joined: 16 May 2001
Posts: 668
Location: Switzerland
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Hi Phil,
Didn't get a chance to rant and rave on the IBM website and when I tried to post a reply on the listserver it seemed to blow up in self-defence  - but is somebody SERIOUSLY thinking this? And replace it with what - that awful IBM "book" format with one simplistic paragraph per page?
I can store all my MQ manuals on one small memory stick that I take everywhere - and 99% of computers can read a PDF file. Has some financial genius in IBM worked out they can save X thousand in licence fees with Adobe if they use their own inferior product?
regards
Don
P.S. And before anybody says "just get manuals on demand direct from the IBM web-site" - yeah, sure if it's not unavailable as it is frequently, or somebody has moved it from www-6 to www-X making a mockery of any bookmark 
Last edited by dgolding on Tue Apr 07, 2009 3:44 am; edited 1 time in total |
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| fjb_saper |
| Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 3:40 am Post subject: |
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Grand High Poobah
Joined: 18 Nov 2003
Posts: 20756
Location: LI,NY
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I look at pdf and info-center as being of equal importance. The advantage of the info center is that it is more up to date. 
_________________
MQ & Broker admin |
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| mqjeff |
| Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 3:59 am Post subject: |
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Grand Master
Joined: 25 Jun 2008
Posts: 17447
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I quite like the fact that the InfoCenter can be downloaded and run locally.
It is a bit heavier weight than the PDFs, but it's just as up to date and I'm not having to change mental states between "reading pages" and "looking up information". |
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| manicminer |
| Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 4:52 am Post subject: |
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Disciple
Joined: 11 Jul 2007
Posts: 177
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| mqjeff wrote: |
I quite like the fact that the InfoCenter can be downloaded and run locally.
It is a bit heavier weight than the PDFs, but it's just as up to date and I'm not having to change mental states between "reading pages" and "looking up information". |
I would agree, with the size of memory sticks now it is easy to carry the whole InfoCenter around on a memory stick.
You have the same advantages of being able to run it everywhere (everything has a web browser) but with better search and keeping the same format as the online docs I am used to using anyway 
_________________
Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. |
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| bruce2359 |
| Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 5:47 am Post subject: |
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Poobah
Joined: 05 Jan 2008
Posts: 9469
Location: US: west coast, almost. Otherwise, enroute.
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The InfoCenter is a disappointment. It's not a book; rather it's like a collection of 3x5 cards with a sentence here a paragraph there.
There's no continuity, navigation is rudamentary and near-useless. My success rate at finding exactly what I'm looking for (like maxchannels value) is higher than when I'm doing general research on a subject. Overall, on a 10-scale, I'd give InfoCenter a 3.
Using the InfoCenter reminds me of a high-school autocross where we were given a map to the secret destination in one-inch squares, one square per stop, and in no particular order.
IBM documentation, the book kind, therefore the .pdf versions, are some of the best in the business. I can't imagine using RedBooks or installation doc in InfoCenter format.
_________________
I like deadlines. I like to wave as they pass by.
ב''ה
Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, Lex Vivendi. As we Worship, So we Believe, So we Live. |
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| PeterPotkay |
| Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 6:01 am Post subject: |
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Poobah
Joined: 15 May 2001
Posts: 7722
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I would hate to see either go. I use the Infocenter more often for looking up individual factoids. If I want to learn a new topic, I kill a tree and print the PDF (relax, I DO print on both sides of the page). Its much easier to learn from a printed PDF where you can highlight stuff, dog ear pages, read page after page in a logic flow, etc.
_________________
Peter Potkay
Keep Calm and MQ On |
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| bruce2359 |
| Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 6:09 am Post subject: |
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Poobah
Joined: 05 Jan 2008
Posts: 9469
Location: US: west coast, almost. Otherwise, enroute.
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I'm imagining (oooooohmmmm) someone trying to learn WMQ from only the InfoCenter...
_________________
I like deadlines. I like to wave as they pass by.
ב''ה
Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, Lex Vivendi. As we Worship, So we Believe, So we Live. |
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| bruce2359 |
| Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 1:36 pm Post subject: |
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Poobah
Joined: 05 Jan 2008
Posts: 9469
Location: US: west coast, almost. Otherwise, enroute.
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Phil.
Care to post the survey results?
Bruce
_________________
I like deadlines. I like to wave as they pass by.
ב''ה
Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi, Lex Vivendi. As we Worship, So we Believe, So we Live. |
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| Sam Uppu |
| Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2009 2:07 pm Post subject: |
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Yatiri
Joined: 11 Nov 2008
Posts: 610
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As long as the pdfs are updated with the latest info, I would prefer to read the pdfs as Peter said.
If I have an isuue and I dont know the answer, I used to google it which will direct me to online and not pdf(well...I dont search for pdfs).
I would say both online and pdf should be there.
Thanks. |
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| prince_mq |
| Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 5:33 am Post subject: |
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Voyager
Joined: 10 Aug 2006
Posts: 76
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Hi,
PDF's are very much useful comparted to Infocenter.
P.S.
The only reason i would go to infocenter once in a while is to search for a key word or to check if there are modifications to the pdf contents.
Thanks,
V |
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| gbaddeley |
| Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 5:15 pm Post subject: |
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Jedi Knight
Joined: 25 Mar 2003
Posts: 2538
Location: Melbourne, Australia
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I use both PDFs and Infocenter. Personally I find that PDFs are faster and easier to navigate, read, search and print than Infocenter. Basically they win hands-down over Infocenter. PDF is a fairly mature technlogy. Infocenter is an application of a fairly new technology (fancy web pages) that doesn't quite trancend the benefit of a tree structure into something that is superbly fast and easy to use.
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Glenn |
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| vmcgloin |
| Posted: Mon Apr 20, 2009 11:21 pm Post subject: |
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Knight
Joined: 04 Apr 2002
Posts: 560
Location: Scotland
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I use both too. The PDFs are faster and easy to navigate, and great to learn from. If I just want a quick reference I try the infocenter but I really struggle to get on with the page layout and (seemingly) random links backwards and forward if I want to explore a topic properly.
Please do not abandon the PDF's but why not make the Infocenter better?
Also, get a patch up on the survey site to make the comment field bigger! |
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| gunter |
| Posted: Wed Apr 22, 2009 3:59 am Post subject: |
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Partisan
Joined: 21 Jan 2004
Posts: 307
Location: Germany, Frankfurt
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I prefer using online docs like the InfoCenter with a good search engine for reference.
But the Websphere MQ Infocenter will be translated into the language your system is configured. I could not found a trick to avoid this. So what I get is a terrible language mix, nearly useless as a reference.
So I have to use the PDF's too.
Gunter
_________________
Gunter Jeschawitz
IBM Certified System Administrator - Websphere MQ, 5.3 |
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| cicsprog |
| Posted: Tue Apr 28, 2009 12:30 pm Post subject: |
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Partisan
Joined: 27 Jan 2002
Posts: 347
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| PLEASE keep PDF for the documentation. It's difficult to locate also on the IBM WEB site. A google search with "mq manual pdf" should direct me right there - NOT |
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