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Deprecate FAQ & integrate content into other parts of docs #17920
Description
The FAQ as it stands is a somewhat random collection of information that's mostly repeated in other places and its not really clear what the criteria are for an FAQ entry.
These are the current sections:
Installation
Report a compilation problem
Matplotlib compiled fine, but nothing shows up when I use it
How to completely remove Matplotlib
Linux Notes
OSX Notes
Install from source
How-to
How-to: Plotting
How-to: Contributing
How to use Matplotlib in a web application server
How to search for examples
Troubleshooting
Obtaining Matplotlib version
matplotlib install location
matplotlib configuration and cache directory locations
Getting help
Problems with recent git versions
Environment Variables
Setting environment variables in Linux and macOS
Setting environment variables in Windows
Proposal
- Install & Environment variables should move to a centralized install file or two Consolidate Install Docs #17327
- How to - first pass this should move to tutorials & smaller examples to the gallery
- Troubleshooting - these tips should move to the locations they're most relevant for (install, contributing, community)
- the getting help entry is also outdated
Reacted by Tim Hoffmann
Reacted by Tim Hoffmann
Activity
timhoffm commentedon Jul 14, 2020
👍 👍
More detail on How-to:
efiring commentedon Jul 14, 2020
Caution: the basic idea of a FAQ is good. People trying to plunge in typically don't read the full, wonderfully organized documentation first, or at all. If there really are a set of questions that crop up frequently in practice, with real people operating the way real people do, then consolidating them in a FAQ can help them and us (and sometimes "them" == "us"). Entries in a FAQ can be mostly pointers to other locations in documentation, so there needn't be much duplication. The FAQ is then a sort of alternative index for finding things.
story645 commentedon Jul 14, 2020
I think that's fine. My most important goal here is to reduce duplication so that maintenance is easier & improve discoverability.
dopplershift commentedon Jul 14, 2020
An option is always to have the FAQ, when appropriate, link to the appropriate section of the docs. I think in some ways, a good FAQ is just alternate table of contents for the docs.
github-actions commentedon Aug 9, 2023
This issue has been marked "inactive" because it has been 365 days since the last comment. If this issue is still present in recent Matplotlib releases, or the feature request is still wanted, please leave a comment and this label will be removed. If there are no updates in another 30 days, this issue will be automatically closed, but you are free to re-open or create a new issue if needed. We value issue reports, and this procedure is meant to help us resurface and prioritize issues that have not been addressed yet, not make them disappear. Thanks for your help!
story645 commentedon Sep 12, 2023
I think this is as done as actionable in this PR - the FAQ is now broken out into section/topic specific FAQs for installing, development, and usage.