📘 PART 2: PROCESSING TECHNICAL DOCUMENTS
🎯 General Objectives
- Master how to approach and process technical documents effectively
- Develop skills to read and understand technology research papers
- Proficient in using API documentation and open source code
- Learn how to create professional documentation for knowledge sharing
🧑🏫 Lesson 1: Reading and Understanding Technical Documents
Structure of Technical Documents
Technical books and textbooks
- Common structure: Preface, Table of Contents, Chapters, References, Index
- Approach: Read table of contents first, identify needed chapters, read chapter summaries
Online documentation
- Wikis, document sites, technical blogs
- Navigation: Use search, follow links, use breadcrumbs
Code documentation
- Inline comments, docstrings, README files, wikis
- Code examples, unit tests as a form of documentation
Effective Reading Strategies
Layered Reading
- Layer 1: Skim to grasp main ideas (5-10% of time)
- Layer 2: Selectively read relevant sections (30-40% of time)
- Layer 3: Deep reading with specific details (50-60% of time)
SQ3R for Technical Documents
- Survey: Look over headings, diagrams
- Question: Turn headings into questions
- Read: Read to find answers
- Recite: Summarize content in own words
- Review: Consolidate and connect sections
Reading with clear purpose
- Read to find solutions to specific problems
- Read to learn new knowledge
- Read to synthesize information from multiple sources
Understanding Technical Terminology
Build personal terminology dictionary
- Record and update new terminology
- Research origin and context of terminology
- Find illustrative examples for each term
Utilize glossary and reference materials
- Check glossary section in documentation
- Use online terminology libraries
- Reference specialized books
Understand relationships between terms
- Create mindmaps connecting related terms
- Categorize terminology by field, technology
- Establish "parent-child" relationships between concepts
Decoding Technical Images and Diagrams
Common diagram types in IT
- Flow charts: Describe processes, algorithms
- UML diagrams: Describe architecture, class, sequence
- Entity-Relationship diagrams: Describe database structure
- Network diagrams: Describe network systems, connections
Approaching complex diagrams
- Start by identifying diagram purpose
- Identify main components and relationships
- Follow data/information/process flow
- Ask questions about unclear parts
🧑🏫 Lesson 2: Processing Research Papers and Academic Articles
Structure of a Research Paper
Main components
- Abstract: Overview of research and results
- Introduction: Context and research problem
- Related Work: Overview of previous research
- Methodology: How research was conducted
- Results: Data and analysis obtained
- Discussion: Meaning and limitations of results
- Conclusion: Summary of contributions and future directions
- References: Cited sources
Effective reading order
- Read Abstract to determine relevance
- Look over Conclusion to know main results
- Read Introduction to understand context and objectives
- Read Discussion and Results for detailed results
- Look at Methodology if interested in implementation
Techniques for Processing Difficult Papers
3-pass strategy
- Pass 1 (5-10 minutes): Read title, abstract, introduction, headings, conclusion
- Pass 2 (1 hour): Read in detail but skip details like mathematical proofs
- Pass 3 (4-5 hours): Read thoroughly, recreate paper mentally, identify strengths and weaknesses
Critical analysis technique
- Identify author's assumptions
- Evaluate if methodology fits objectives
- Check if results support conclusions
- Compare with similar studies
Extract important information
- Create mind map or outline for paper
- Note main algorithms, formulas, techniques
- List research contributions and limitations
- Identify potential development directions
Following Research in the Field
Paper and article sources
- ArXiv.org - Preprints archive
- Google Scholar - Academic search engine
- IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library - Professional libraries
- ResearchGate, Academia.edu - Academic social networks
Research tracking tools
- Google Scholar Alerts - Receive new paper notifications
- Semantic Scholar - AI-powered search with highlights
- Mendeley, Zotero - Reference management
- Academic Twitter/X - Follow researchers
Identify important papers
- High citation count
- Published at prestigious conferences/journals (ICML, NeurIPS, CVPR, ACL, etc.)
- Survey or review papers
- Frequently mentioned in community
🧑🏫 Lesson 3: Open Source Documentation and API Documentation
Working with API Documentation
Structure of API Documentation
- Getting Started guide
- API Reference (details about endpoint/function)
- Code examples
- FAQ and troubleshooting
- Authentication and security
Strategy for approaching new API
- Read overview to understand API purpose and capabilities
- Check quick start/hello world to understand basic flow
- Identify endpoints/functions to use
- Reference sample code for similar use cases
- Experiment with API playground or Postman
Reading and understanding API reference
- Understand request and response structure
- Identify required vs optional parameters
- Pay attention to limits (rate limits, quotas, etc.)
- Check error codes and handling
- Follow versioning and deprecated features
Researching Open Source Code
Structure of open source projects
- README.md - Overview and installation guide
- LICENSE - Code usage regulations
- CONTRIBUTING.md - Contribution guide
- Wiki - Detailed documentation
- Issue tracker - Track bugs and feature requests
- Pull requests - Pending contributions under review
Strategy for understanding large codebases
- Start with README and documentation
- Build and run code before studying
- Look over directory structure and project organization
- Identify entry point and main execution flow
- Use code analysis tools (SourceTrail, CodeQuery)
- Read unit tests to understand component usage
Code research techniques
- Read code top-down (from overall structure to details)
- Use debugger to follow execution flow
- Write code using library to understand API
- Try fixing small bugs or implementing simple features
- Ask questions in project chat channels (Discord, Slack, IRC)
Reading and Using Documentation Tools
Popular documentation generation tools
- Javadoc (JAVA)
- Doxygen (C/C++, JAVA, Python)
- JSDoc (JavaScript)
- Swagger/OpenAPI (RESTful APIs)
- Sphinx (Python)
How to read documentation from code
- Read docstrings and comments in code
- Understand method/function signature
- See usage examples in unit tests
- Check exception handling to understand edge cases
Working when documentation is lacking
- Read unit tests as a form of documentation
- Use static code analysis tools
- Use IDE to explore code structure
- Ask community via Stack Overflow, Reddit, Discord
🧑🏫 Lesson 4: Creating Documentation and Sharing Knowledge
Principles of Effective Technical Writing
Document structure
- Organize in inverted pyramid (most important first)
- Clear content hierarchy (headings, subheadings)
- Use table of contents and internal links
- Balance text, code, and images appropriately
Writing for users
- Clearly identify target audience (beginner vs advanced)
- Use language appropriate for audience
- Explain technical terms when needed
- Write from reader's perspective
Principles of clarity and conciseness
- One paragraph = one idea
- Short, simple, direct sentences
- Use active voice
- Avoid unnecessary jargon
- Use bullet points and numbered lists
Creating Source Code Documentation
Documentation in code
- Write docstrings/comments describing function, parameters, return values
- Explain complex logic and decisions
- Mention edge cases and handling
- Update comments when code changes
Writing effective README
- Brief description of project
- Installation and configuration guide
- Quick start guide with basic examples
- Links to detailed documentation
- Information about contributing and license
Creating wikis and guides
- Organize information by use cases
- Provide step-by-step tutorials
- Add troubleshooting guides
- Include FAQ for common questions
- Update documentation when code changes
Sharing Knowledge with Community
Writing technical blog posts
- Choose specific and useful topics
- Clear article structure
- Use real-world examples
- Include runnable code samples
- Provide resources for further reading
Creating video tutorials
- Prepare script before recording
- Focus on one specific topic
- Keep videos short and concise
- Display code clearly and readably
- Provide source code and resources
Participating in mentoring and Q&A
- Answer questions on Stack Overflow
- Contribute to open source projects
- Join Discord/Slack communities
- Organize workshops or meetups
- Share experiences with colleagues
Tools Supporting Documentation Creation
Documentation writing tools
- Markdown editors (VS Code, Typora)
- Documentation platforms (ReadTheDocs, Docusaurus)
- Wikis (MediaWiki, Confluence)
- Collaborative tools (HackMD, Google Docs)
Diagram and image creation tools
- Lucidchart, Draw.io - Create flow charts, UML diagrams
- Excalidraw - Hand-drawn style diagrams
- Mermaid - Create diagrams from code
- Canva - Design illustrative images
Automating documentation creation
- Auto-doc generators from comments
- GitHub Actions to build and deploy docs
- CI/CD pipelines for documentation
- API documentation generators
🧪 PRACTICAL EXERCISES
Analyze API documentation
- Choose a popular public API (Twitter, GitHub, Spotify,...)
- Read documentation and build mindmap of API structure
- Execute at least 3 different endpoints
- Rewrite short guide for beginners
Research open source code
- Fork a small open source project on GitHub
- Read code and draw project structure diagram
- Add or improve docstrings for at least 5 functions/methods
- Create pull request contributing documentation to original project
Create technical documentation for personal project
- Choose a personal project you've done
- Create comprehensive README.md according to standards learned
- Write API documentation for main functions/modules
- Add step-by-step installation and usage guide
- Create wiki with at least 3 in-depth tutorial pages
Share knowledge with community
- Write one technical blog post about topic you just learned
- Post content on appropriate platform like Dev.to, Medium, or personal blog
- Share article with community and collect feedback
- Improve article based on suggestions