# CERN-HSF project

This page contains the details of a technical writing project accepted for
Google Season of Docs.

### Project summary

Open source organization:
:   CERN-HSF

Technical writer:
:   LuckInTheRain

Project name:
:   Extending and improving the ROOT documentation

Project length:
:   Long running (5 months)

### Project description

The project has the goal of improving the documentation of ROOT, which is the main software system for data analysis and data presentation used by the high-energy physics community world-wide.

Besides the technical writer skills that I can provide for the project, I am also familiar with ROOT (6 \& 7) and I have knowledge of other components required by the project, such as:

- C++
- Python
- Git/GitHub
- Web site construction tools (html, markdown, Jekyll)

I identify three main pieces in the ROOT documentation:

- the web site https://root.cern,
- the C++ class reference guide https://root.cern/doc/master/,
- the forum https://root-forum.cern.ch

Seems to me the ROOT documentation (the new "ROOT manual") need to be improved and supplemented in the following areas:

- It should become more accessible and understandable for non-physicists in particular the introductory chapters.
- More tutorials explaining the general functionality of ROOT shall be developed.
- Some new topics and developments shall be included with detailed descriptions and examples. Among those I can list:
  - The Python binding
  - The mathematical libraries
  - Manual description for high level graphics tools (TRatioPLot, THStack)
  - The new data mining analysis tools (RDataFrame and RNtuple)
- The new key data formats (RDataFrame and RNtuple) need detailed technical specifications and tutorials.
- Answers to important questions from users, such as those posted in the ROOT forum, will need be included in the documentation. This requires a fine analysis of the most often asked questions followed by a synthesis period to translate them into pieces of documentation in the new "ROOT Manual" or in new some tutorials in the Reference Guide.

- Tutorials illustrating the functionalities provided by ROOT 7.

  - New ROOT 7 histograms
  - New ROOT 7 graphics

Estimated time schedule (5 months):

- Phase 1: Definition of tasks and scope for ROOT documentation and tutorials: 2 weeks.
- Phase 2: Gather and analyse important users' questions from the ROOT forum: 2 weeks
- Phase 3: Writing ROOT documentation: 8 weeks.
- Phase 4: Developing tutorials: 8 weeks

Finally I should add that I have already contributed to the ROOT documentation last year with a long-term Google Season of Docs project. I defined the new structure of the Manual.
The proposal this year will contribute to the completion of other documentation aspects still missing in ROOT.