D0???R1
Shedding the bikeshed: C++ papers should focus on content, not style

Draft Proposal,

This version:
http://wg21.link/p0????
Author:
Audience:
all
Toggle Diffs:
Project:
ISO/IEC JTC1/SC22/WG21 14882: Programming Language — C++
Source:
github.com/jfbastien/papers/blob/master/source/bikeshed.bs

Abstract

Writing a C++ standards committee paper can be as easy as riding a bicycle 🚲

1. Coloring the shed

Thoughtful standards people put significant effort into writing their papers. Often, too much of that effort goes into style or format instead of content. This meta-paper is ironically all style and no C++ content. It proposes that you stop formatting and start using bikeshed.

While we’re at it, we’ll also propose that you use a public version control service such as github to make it easier for reviewers to see how a paper evolved, both while in draft state as well as from one revision to another. Final papers are meant to be consumed as-is, but your paper collaborators, editors, or future-self will thank you when performing archaeology to untangle the inevitable nonsensical part of your final paper.

2. To do

https://github.com/tabatkins/bikeshed/blob/master/docs/quick-start.md

  1. Basics

    • What does the final paper look like?

    • What does the source look like? (see section 4.)

    • Who uses it?

    • Takes care of the boilerplate

  2. Convenience

    • Webpages work everywhere

    • Readable offline, no downloads

    • Unicode Just Works™ (even the EDG wiki now supports it)

  3. Good practice

    • github for diffs: easier to track changes

    • github integration: auto-generation, etc

  4. markdown + HTML escape hatch

    • https://github.com/tabatkins/bikeshed/blob/master/docs/markup.md

    • Railroad diagrams

    • Code, and syntax highlight

    • Toggle diff

  5. Link to other papers

  6. Getting started

    • Installing https://github.com/tabatkins/bikeshed/blob/master/docs/install.md