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This page has been set up and created by NICHOLAS KARIMI MUIGAI, ArchNav mentee ( Profile ) to document his experiences and understanding of the project as he interacts with it. Therefore, consider this not as documentation for the ArchNav tool but a knowledge-sharing repository. |
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The specific use case being addressed by this evaluation is that of providing a method for image-based navigation to the correct formal doc set for developers, implementers, operators, and end-users of ONAP.
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The Architecture Navigator does not create documentation but allows users to easily navigate through documentation that resides in the Read The Docs.
- Describe framework
ArchNav as a Framework
ArchNav is an architectural platform that provides common access to the wiki and RTD. It uses existing ONAP projects diagrams and overlays them with clickable area maps. Its -archnav usefulness has been demonstrated beyond ONAP documentation needs thus the tool can be repurposed and used for any other project in LFN.-highly versatile method for image based navigation beyond ONAP doc'
ArchNav has no static HTML pages per se, all the HTML pages are dynamically created in real-time based on the user request. It uses a file system DB to store JSON objects which on a single modification, can entirely point to a different project.
Current Version
| Project | Architecture Navigator |
|---|---|
| Release Name | dn |
| Release Version | 3.0 |
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- link to current source code: https://github.com/ca2853/onapdocs/tree/dev
How does ArchNav Work?
- ToDoNICHOLAS KARIMI MUIGAI complete evaluation by
Side by side comparison between ArchNav and Read The Docs
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| Architecture Navigator | Read The Docs |
|---|---|
Technologies used include:
| Technologies used;
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| Works on the browser | Works on the browser |
| Does not create documentation | Creates documentation |
| Offers interactive overlay | Links embeded embedded in the image. |
| Content is dynamically loaded as the user navigates to new pages. | Content not dynamically created |
| Offers quick access to documentation in a click. | Documentation is scattered and does not offer a straightforward way of looking up information.Have embedded backlinks to the wiki. |
References links to both formal and development wiki | Holds complete and formal technical documentation. |
| Clickable maps in the form of image overlay. | Clickable maps in the form of an SVG diagram. |
| Dynamic code generation | N/A |
| Allow toggling on and off for some features on demand | N/A |
| Image creation from any source (bitmap image) | Requires image editing/modification |
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| ArchNav | Read The Docs |
|---|---|
| Requires brief end-user training on how to use the tool | Straight forward |
| Will require a team of technical code contributors/committers | Requires knowledge of rst syntax and inkscapeInkscape. |
| Require manual update of the links to point to the current documentation | TBD - confirm whether automatic sync with git |
| Has multiple moving parts | Fewer moving parts |
| New features coded by the ONAP community | New features coded by RTD community |
| Initial setup of new infrastructure and on-going ongoing support | SaaS |
FINDINGS
ArchNav is a highly versatile platform that supports a wide variety of use cases. However it . One of the drivers for its creation seems to be in part as a workaround to existing documentation policies that are not being followed, (see DeveloperWiki and ReadTheDocs Usage Policy) The confusion created by not following the set documentation policy in all situations, in addition to the wiki being poorly structured, has created the need for something like ArchNav to help the development community find the information they need. However ArchNav brings complexity when designing a clickable image, The process requires taking a snapshot of an existing image, converting it to a PNG file (if not already a PNG), using an external tool to draw shapes around objects in the image to generate the needed coordinates and lastly to store the coordinate attributes in a JSON object. This has the potential to be more time-consuming and error-prone when compared to creating OVERLAYS using an SVG editor to create diagrams with embedded links. SVGs with embedded links however has have less versatility than ArchNav has demonstrated.
As a platform ArchNav is not a resource or storage hog since most of its file files are generated dynamically on demand using PHP and Javascript and none of the items linked from an image reside locally.
Documentation residing in the read the docs is always up to date and the most current. The ArchNav will require a separate manual update of the links pointing to the documentation in addition to the current RTD updates whenever there is a new release of ONAP.
RECOMMENDATION
- facade design approach.
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Moving ArchNav out of the lab to production will have a significant cost implication to the Linux Foundation Networking. The application will require to be run on cloud server instance with resource requirements as oultlined on the (Infrastructure requirements) section above.
RECOMMENDATION
- Implement a FACADE design pattern
As is, As is the tool can be supported by people with the right technical skill setskillset, however, to broaden the scope and make it accomodating for controbution contribution from technical and non-technical members of the community, a graphical approach would be ideal,,,,
- investigate github webhooks.
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simple web page with input forms as an interface that is mapped to the JSON object instances. In essence, this will eliminate the need for directly modifying the backend code to make changes.
- Implement webhooks on GitHub with the wiki configuration.
To address the concerns for maintaining an up-to-date documentation reference, exploring and experimenting with some automation methods would be ideal. In this case, webhooks can be configured on GitHub to be triggered to make an update to the flat file storage such as when there is a new release or a release tag changes.
Recommendation based on the Use Case
Based on the above findings, the ArchNav platform has to a large extent solved the highlighted shared problem on the problem statement. The goal for any software program is to eliminate complexity and not introduce one. Architecture Navigator on one side which is, offering intuitive graphical navigation, and quick access to the documentation, has consistently produced stellar performance. Conversely, the platform which is a stand-alone application fails in providing an integration structure for providing a single entry point for the ONAP documentation. Additionally, a pain point to be of concern would be the complexity that might arise in implementing clickable image features.
That said, to eliminate any confusion that could arise when ONAP community members try to access the official documentation, ArchNav as a parallel option would not be the ideal solution. However, the functionalities of the ArchNav can be more useful to the opensource community as an alternative to quick navigation and access to formal and development project information. Case in point, the ArchNav platform would be an ideal entry point for the development wiki where developers seeking to navigate the unstructured wiki would be presented with an interactive image-based layer that directs them to the projects development wiki in a single click. To facilitate something like this it would really be best to have ArchNav as an open-source project with the appropriate governance applied to attract the appropriate maintainers and contributors.
Ultimately any documentation model should fit seamlessly into the existing support model and infrastructure for the documentation itself. As such managing, all of the content in the documentation repo in a form that does not require a programming background seems most appropriate to ensure maintainability.
Conclusion
The point here was to highlight the functionality and features that the two tools offer to the end-user. With an objective for providing quick navigation to the documentation based on visual presentation, it would be ideal to have the image-based navigation implemented within the official documentation. Having the application of image navigation within the documentation will ensure that the entry point to the official documentation remains unchanged hence providing a consistent and improved user experience unlike having community members access the documentation through a third-party application. This despite solving the commonly shared problem which is the lack of a simple and intuitive way for accessing the documentation, would bring more confusion of duplicity. For the use case in the original problem statement, ArchNav is probably not the correct solution. However, it may be an entirely appropriate solution to use ArchNav as a visual entry point to areas where information is less structured than our formal documentation set or we do not have full control or management over the source of the documentation being sought.