Read Me First! A Style Guide for the Computer Industry, Third Edition - Softcover

Publications, Sun Technical

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0137058268 ISBN 13: 9780137058266

Publisher: Prentice Hall, 2009

Synopsis

The definitive reference for technical writers, editors, and documentation managers, Read Me First! A Style Guide for the Computer Industry, Third Edition,has been revised and updated to cover everything from creating screencasts and referencing web sites to writing for wikis.

This award-winning guide to creating clear, consistent, and easy-to-understand documentation covers everything from grammar and writing style to typographic and legal guidelines. The authors, who are senior editors and writers at Sun Microsystems, share their extensive experience and provide practical tips and recommendations, including guidance on hiring writers, working with illustrators, managing schedules and workflow, and more.

The third edition of Read Me First features new chapters on:

• Writing for wikis and encouraging wiki collaboration
• Creating screencasts, using screencast terminology, and guidelines for writing narration
• Creating alternative text for nontext elements such as screen captures, multimedia content, illustrations, and diagrams

It also includes new tables for symbol name conventions, for common anthropomorphisms, and for common idioms and colloquialisms. An updated and expanded recommended reading list suggests additional resources.

About this title

Review

“The third edition of Read Me First! A Style Guide for the Computer Industry has all the excellent content of the previous editions and more. If you need to understand the best practices for developing useful and usable text, start with this volume. It brings together a wealth of knowledge that all technical communication professionals must have to succeed.”
-―Dr. JoAnn T. Hackos, President, Comtech Services, Inc.

“Clear content and consistent style are essential for the usability of any system. Read Me First! A Style Guide for the Computer Industry tells you how to achieve these elusive goals, and does so following its own advice: It’s clear, consistent, and presents advanced topics in an actionable and approachable manner.”
-―Jakob Nielsen, Principal, Nielsen Norman Group; Author, Eyetracking Web Usability

About the Author

The Members of Sun Technical Publications are award-winning senior editors and writers for Sun Microsystems, Inc. 

Edition details

• Publisher: Prentice Hall
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0137058268
• ISBN 13: 9780137058266
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 3
• Number of pages: 462