Apache Forrest 0.2
                                 Release Notes

                          Wed Nov 13 03:12:22 EST 2002
                          ============================

$Id: RELEASE-NOTES-0.2.txt,v 1.1 2002/11/12 16:12:24 jefft Exp $

1) Introduction
---------------

This document describes the 0.2 release of Apache Forrest, how to get started,
known bugs and any other issues.  Please send all feedback to
forrest-dev@xml.apache.org.

2)  Status
----------
This 0.2 release is believed to be stable, and is in use by many projects
(including xml.apache.org).  However, forrest-dev explicitly DOES NOT intend to
maintain the degree of accountability and backwards-compatibility intended for
future 0.x releases.  This 0.2 release is made primarily to meet user demand,
to solicit feedback, and to give the Forrest community a trail run in the
process of Forrest releases.


3) What is Forrest?
-------------------

Forrest is an XML standards-oriented project documentation framework based on
Apache Cocoon, providing XSLT stylesheets and schemas, images and other
resources. Forrest uses these to render the XML source content into a website
via command-line, robot, or a dynamic web application.  For more details,
please see the website, http://xml.apache.org/forrest/.

4) Requirements
---------------

- The Forrest binary distribution requires a Java Runtime Environment (1.2 or
  higher) installed.  This can be obtained from
  http://java.sun.com/j2se/downloads.html

- The Forrest source distribution requires a Java Development Kit (1.2 or
  higher) to build, obtainable from the same URL.

Ant is not required: Forrest uses its own stripped-down, souped-up Ant in
tools/ant/.


5) Installing Forrest
---------------------

Depending on which distribution you downloaded, one of these sections will
apply to you.

o 5.1) Source distribution
  ------------------------

  The source distribution contains static Forrest resources (skins, XSLTs,
  images, schemas), source code and Forrest's own website.

  - To build the Forrest binary distribution, type:

    ./build.sh   (Unix)
    build.bat    (Windows)

    (if Ant 1.5+ is installed, typing 'ant' works just as well)

    A binary distribution should be built in build/dist/shbat.  Add the path to
    build/dist/shbat/bin to your PATH environment variable, and you have
    Forrest installed.

o 5.2) Binary distribution
  ------------------------

  The binary distribution contains a static reusable Forrest ready for use.
  
  - Copy somewhere permanent, like /usr/local/forrest or c:\forrest
  - Windows users should set the FORREST_HOME environment variable to point to
    where Forrest is installed.
  - Add $FORREST_HOME/bin (Unix) or %FORREST_HOME%\bin (Windows) to the system
    PATH environment variable.


6) Getting Started
------------------


Having installed Forrest, here is a little test sequence to validate that
everything works, and to get you started.  For more information, see
http://xml.apache.org/forrest/your-project.html

 - Type 'forrest -projecthelp'.  This should list the available Forrest
   commands.

 - Create an empty directory somewhere, and enter it.

   [ Eg: mkdir /tmp/mysite ; cd /tmp/mysite ]

 - Type 'forrest seed'.  This will create a template site in the current
   directory, ready for you to edit or render.

 - (optional) Edit the XML content in src/documentation/content/xdocs
   Have a look around, familiarize yourself with the structure.

 - In your new project root [Eg: /tmp/mysite],  type 'forrest validate'.
   This will check that all XML files are valid.  Actually Forrest does this
   automatically for the next step, but we're proud of our validation :)

 - In the project root, type 'forrest' or 'forrest site'.  This will generate
   HTML for your project in build/site

 - (optional) Type 'forrest run'.  This starts up an internal webserver
   displaying the project contents rendered at runtime.  Point your browser at
   http://localhost:8888/ to see your site.  Edits to files in build/webapps
   are instantly rendered.  See the site docs for more info on how to exploit
   this capability.



7) Known bugs
-------------

 7.1)
   "I've seen one bug... Suppose you have "mypage.html" and "mypage-two.html"
   in the book.xml. Then, two links are renedered in yellow when first page is
   accessed. Anyone else seen this?"

     Vadim Gritsenko, <3DCFDAEA.1050209@verizon.net>

 7.2)
   When running a Forrest site as a webapp, a user reports:

   "When I call a page for 2ond time, it should be cached.  But as we can see
   in the logs attached, it is not, although the 3 aggregated xml (book, tabs
   and body, are cached).

   Another problem is the evaluation of the xslt just before the cache
   validation. In the documents is too much time consuming, as you can see in
   the logs."

     <20021107161831.80475.qmail@web21309.mail.yahoo.com>

   In a later post <20021108171056.14103.qmail@web21301.mail.yahoo.com>, a fix
   (comment out JispFilesystemStore in cocoon.xconf) is suggested.


-- 
$Revision: 1.1 $ $Date: 2002/11/12 16:12:24 $