<div dir="ltr"><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'bitstream vera sans'; ">All,</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'bitstream vera sans';"><br></span></div>
<div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'bitstream vera sans'; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The </span><a href="http://cookbooks.opengrads.org/" style="color: rgb(147, 125, 0); text-decoration: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">OpenGrADS Cookbooks</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> are now available. Inspired by the format of the </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perl_Cookbook" style="color: rgb(147, 125, 0); text-decoration: none; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Perl Cookbook</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, each recipe has a very simple standard format including the statement of the </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">problem</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> one is trying to solve, followed by the proposed </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">solution</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> and a </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">discussion</span></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> section. User contributions are highly encouraged (and badly needed). </span></span><br>
</div><div><br></div><div>As Hoop reminded me recently, most of us "developers" usually work under the hood, we don't drive. The actual expertise in using GrADS is with you guys that use it on a daily basis on a variety of problems. The "Cookbooks" project is an effort to organize this collective knowledge with an easily searchable and extensible wiki. It is our hope that most recipes will come out of the GrADS user community, although developers are also expected to make contributions from time to time.</div>
<div><br></div><div>The Cookbooks are not meant as a replacement for the excellent on-line documentation that Brian and Jennifer maintain at <a href="http://grads.iges.org/grads/gadoc/index.html">http://grads.iges.org/grads/gadoc/index.html</a>. The Recipes contained in the Cookbooks simply present the information from a task oriented perspective (say, "how to import GrADS data into a spreadsheet") rather than document a specific command (say, "set gxout print"). In addition, each recipe is a practical example that should be reproducible by the reader. Some people learn better this way.</div>
<div><br></div><div>While most recipes may originate from discussions in this list, Cookbooks' specific discussion related to the editorial process should be conducted at the new list </div><div><br></div><div> <a href="mailto:opengrads-cooks@lists.sourceforge.net">opengrads-cooks@lists.sourceforge.net</a>. </div>
<div><br></div><div>The availability of new recipes, and important revisions when completed, can still be announced on gradsusr.</div><div><br></div><div>For a list of available recipes consult:</div><div><br></div><div> <a href="http://cookbooks.opengrads.org/index.php?title=Table_of_Contents">http://cookbooks.opengrads.org/index.php?title=Table_of_Contents</a><br>
</div><div><br></div><div>Instructions for contributing your own recipes are here:</div><div><br></div><div> <a href="http://cookbooks.opengrads.org/index.php?title=Recipe-001:_Writing_a_Recipe">http://cookbooks.opengrads.org/index.php?title=Recipe-001:_Writing_a_Recipe</a><br>
</div><div><br></div><div>Please don't feel that you need to have a <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">killer script</span> in order to be able to contribute recipes. Keep in mind that simple recipes that are geared towards new users are just as valuable as complex PDEF trickery. </div>
<div><br></div><div> I hope to hear from you soon at <a href="mailto:opengrads-cooks@lists.sourceforge.net">opengrads-cooks@lists.sourceforge.net</a>.</div><div><br></div><div> Take care,</div><div><br></div><div> Arlindo da Silva</div>
<div> On behalf of the OpenGrADS development team</div><div><br></div><div> </div>-- <br>Arlindo da Silva<br><a href="mailto:dasilva@alum.mit.edu">dasilva@alum.mit.edu</a><br><br></div>