The Ogre community has become quite large and the availability of talent and good content is such that we can afford to hold up certain standards. Thus we have created a set of guidelines that tutorial writers should adhere to in order to maintain consistent, high quality work.

Licensing

Any code you post is released to the Public Domain, and any documentation or articles posted are released under the GNU Free Documentation License 1.2. If this is not acceptable, post it on your own website and create a link in the external links section.

Conventions

Introduction

Ogre tutorials are very good in their current state, and we hope that future articles will maintain that same level of quality. The idea is that each tutorial should read like a Wikipedia article, meaning it has an obvious flow with no interruptions or asides which interfere with the tutorial. Each article should guide the user from beginning to end on a single topic (or a handful of closely related topics). To this end we have come up with a few conventions that we hope will help with this process.

PLEASE NOTE: The goal of these conventions are to create a high quality, readable tutorial for the sake of the people new to Ogre. You may break any of these conventions you like as long as you are certain that it will make the tutorial in some way better than otherwise following these rules.

Creating a Tutorial

  • For the main Ogre tutorials, name the article in the format: Level Tutorial # (ie Basic Tutorial 9)
  • Please write the OGRE version the tutorial is written or updated for.
  • Do not put your name on the tutorial. Though you may break this rule if you wish, we have found that it makes people shy about editing it, and when they do, they add notes saying "such and such doesn't work, change it to such and such -New Author's Name" instead of actually fixing it in the tutorial. This leads to highly disjoint, confusing tutorials. Write your "created by" note on the Discussion page.
  • Avoid large paragraphs. Break them up a bit.
  • Use a professional writing style. Don't get too silly in your writing. If you start warning your audience about anything or using a lot of cliches like 'just my $.02' you're bordering on silly.
  • Name sections according to content. The table of contents should show a map of where the discussion is going to go. This is an example of a bad TOC:
    1. The Obligitory Warning
    2. Get your boilerplate ready
    3. The Meaty Part
    4. From Bad to Worse
  • Write for multiple platforms. Ogre has a wide audience. If you don't use another platform ask someone in the forums to cross check your work before posting. This basically means don't use windows specific code or, if you do, include it in #ifdef WIN32 blocks. Look at Clay's tutorials for an example (i.e. Basic Tutorial 1).
  • Stay on topic. Pick one or a few related topics and write exclusively to that subject. If you have many ideas, make separate tutorials.

Accuracy

  • Use proper English, spelling and grammar. Copy it into Word to do a spelling & grammar check if need be.
  • Link your article with the articles or tutorials page only after it has been proof read.
  • Don't post code that you haven't actually compiled and ran, nor code that you didn't write.
  • Post all code necessary, and don't leave anything out. If you extend the -ExampleApplication framework, just post your code. Provide both the inline code that you are commenting on, and also post the full code base for easy copying and pasting.

Editing a Tutorial

  • Do not insert your name or into the middle of an article. Feel free to take credit for whatever you have added or fixed on the discussion page.
  • Tutorials should have an obvious flow to it. Integrate what needs to be said or fixed into the article itself without writing a side note unless what needs to be said is lengthy enough for an entirely new section.
  • If something is wrong, fix it. Do not write a side note with your name attached. If it's wrong then the original version doesn't need to be there anyway.
  • If editing a tutorial, do not write asides or notes which are disjoint from the article. Imagine each article as a Wikipedia article that explains how to do something.
  • If a tutorial has not been upgraded to the most recent version of Ogre, please upgrade it in-place. Do not add sections such as "for 1.6.1 compiling..." and so on. The tutorials should always be up-to-date with the most recent version of Ogre. Since these are for people learning how to use Ogre, and new people will use the most recent version, we do not need to keep old code for earlier ogre versions around.

Types of Tutorials

File your tutorial in the correct place based on content and assumptions about the knowledge of the reader.

Leveled Tutorials

All leveled tutorials should build an application from beginning to end, resulting in a demoable application.

Basic Tutorials:

Beginner tutorials assume no prior knowledge of Ogre aside from the previous beginner tutorials. These tutorials should use as small of an amount of intermediate C++ concepts as well (i.e. try not to use STL containers, templates, etc). Stick to a short topic with only a very small number of related concepts to demonstrate.

Intermediate Tutorials:

Intermediate tutorials assume that the user has worked through the beginner tutorials and intermediate tutorials up to the number you are writing. Additionally they may use all C++ concepts which are required for it (STL containers, templates, and so on), but still try to limit yourself to only what is absolutely necessary for the topic in question.

Other Types

In-Depth Tutorials:

Advanced tutorials assume the user has done the previous tutorials and has used Ogre outside of the tutorials. It may use any and all C++ concepts which are appropriate for the tutorial. The resulting tutorial may span many files and many classes (some of which will probably not be explained if it is not the focus of the tutorial). However, what sets an advanced tutorial apart from an intermediate tutorial is that it should cover a single topic (or multiple related topics) either in-depth or very broadly.

Good examples of an in-depth tutorial would be creating your own scene manager (which would be very in depth), and exploring how resources are used in Ogre (very broad, covering multiple aspects of the startup process).

Older Tutorials:

These are tutorials that have fallen out of date, and no one has answered the call to update them. If a tutorial goes out of date, please update it! If you cannot or are disinterested in updating it, make a post in the General Forum to request assistance updating it. If no one does and the tutorial is no longer usable, move the link down to the older tutorial category, where (hopefully) someone will eventually update it and move it back to one of the above locations.

Alias: Ogre Wiki:Article Writing Guidelines

<HR>
Creative Commons Copyright -- Some rights reserved.


THE WORK (AS DEFINED BELOW) IS PROVIDED UNDER THE TERMS OF THIS CREATIVE COMMONS PUBLIC LICENSE ("CCPL" OR "LICENSE"). THE WORK IS PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT AND/OR OTHER APPLICABLE LAW. ANY USE OF THE WORK OTHER THAN AS AUTHORIZED UNDER THIS LICENSE OR COPYRIGHT LAW IS PROHIBITED.

BY EXERCISING ANY RIGHTS TO THE WORK PROVIDED HERE, YOU ACCEPT AND AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE. THE LICENSOR GRANTS YOU THE RIGHTS CONTAINED HERE IN CONSIDERATION OF YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF SUCH TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

1. Definitions

  • "Collective Work" means a work, such as a periodical issue, anthology or encyclopedia, in which the Work in its entirety in unmodified form, along with a number of other contributions, constituting separate and independent works in themselves, are assembled into a collective whole. A work that constitutes a Collective Work will not be considered a Derivative Work (as defined below) for the purposes of this License.
  • "Derivative Work" means a work based upon the Work or upon the Work and other pre-existing works, such as a translation, musical arrangement, dramatization, fictionalization, motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, condensation, or any other form in which the Work may be recast, transformed, or adapted, except that a work that constitutes a Collective Work will not be considered a Derivative Work for the purpose of this License. For the avoidance of doubt, where the Work is a musical composition or sound recording, the synchronization of the Work in timed-relation with a moving image ("synching") will be considered a Derivative Work for the purpose of this License.
  • "Licensor" means the individual or entity that offers the Work under the terms of this License.
  • "Original Author" means the individual or entity who created the Work.
  • "Work" means the copyrightable work of authorship offered under the terms of this License.
  • "You" means an individual or entity exercising rights under this License who has not previously violated the terms of this License with respect to the Work, or who has received express permission from the Licensor to exercise rights under this License despite a previous violation.
  • "License Elements" means the following high-level license attributes as selected by Licensor and indicated in the title of this License: Attribution, ShareAlike.

2. Fair Use Rights

Nothing in this license is intended to reduce, limit, or restrict any rights arising from fair use, first sale or other limitations on the exclusive rights of the copyright owner under copyright law or other applicable laws.

3. License Grant

Subject to the terms and conditions of this License, Licensor hereby grants You a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, perpetual (for the duration of the applicable copyright) license to exercise the rights in the Work as stated below:

  • to reproduce the Work, to incorporate the Work into one or more Collective Works, and to reproduce the Work as incorporated in the Collective Works;
  • to create and reproduce Derivative Works;
  • to distribute copies or phonorecords of, display publicly, perform publicly, and perform publicly by means of a digital audio transmission the Work including as incorporated in Collective Works;
  • to distribute copies or phonorecords of, display publicly, perform publicly, and perform publicly by means of a digital audio transmission Derivative Works.
  • For the avoidance of doubt, where the work is a musical composition:
    • Performance Royalties Under Blanket Licenses. Licensor waives the exclusive right to collect, whether individually or via a performance rights society (e.g. ASCAP, BMI, SESAC), royalties for the public performance or public digital performance (e.g. webcast) of the Work.
    • Mechanical Rights and Statutory Royalties. Licensor waives the exclusive right to collect, whether individually or via a music rights society or designated agent (e.g. Harry Fox Agency), royalties for any phonorecord You create from the Work ("cover version") and distribute, subject to the compulsory license created by 17 USC Section 115 of the US Copyright Act (or the equivalent in other jurisdictions).
    • Webcasting Rights and Statutory Royalties. For the avoidance of doubt, where the Work is a sound recording, Licensor waives the exclusive right to collect, whether individually or via a performance-rights society (e.g. SoundExchange), royalties for the public digital performance (e.g. webcast) of the Work, subject to the compulsory license created by 17 USC Section 114 of the US Copyright Act (or the equivalent in other jurisdictions).


The above rights may be exercised in all media and formats whether now known or hereafter devised. The above rights include the right to make such modifications as are technically necessary to exercise the rights in other media and formats. All rights not expressly granted by Licensor are hereby reserved.

4. Restrictions

The license granted in Section 3 above is expressly made subject to and limited by the following restrictions:

  • You may distribute, publicly display, publicly perform, or publicly digitally perform the Work only under the terms of this License, and You must include a copy of, or the Uniform Resource Identifier for, this License with every copy or phonorecord of the Work You distribute, publicly display, publicly perform, or publicly digitally perform. You may not offer or impose any terms on the Work that alter or restrict the terms of this License or the recipients' exercise of the rights granted hereunder. You may not sublicense the Work. You must keep intact all notices that refer to this License and to the disclaimer of warranties. You may not distribute, publicly display, publicly perform, or publicly digitally perform the Work with any technological measures that control access or use of the Work in a manner inconsistent with the terms of this License Agreement. The above applies to the Work as incorporated in a Collective Work, but this does not require the Collective Work apart from the Work itself to be made subject to the terms of this License. If You create a Collective Work, upon notice from any Licensor You must, to the extent practicable, remove from the Collective Work any credit as required by clause 4(c), as requested. If You create a Derivative Work, upon notice from any Licensor You must, to the extent practicable, remove from the Derivative Work any credit as required by clause 4(c), as requested.
  • You may distribute, publicly display, publicly perform, or publicly digitally perform a Derivative Work only under the terms of this License, a later version of this License with the same License Elements as this License, or a Creative Commons iCommons license that contains the same License Elements as this License (e.g. Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 Japan). You must include a copy of, or the Uniform Resource Identifier for, this License or other license specified in the previous sentence with every copy or phonorecord of each Derivative Work You distribute, publicly display, publicly perform, or publicly digitally perform. You may not offer or impose any terms on the Derivative Works that alter or restrict the terms of this License or the recipients' exercise of the rights granted hereunder, and You must keep intact all notices that refer to this License and to the disclaimer of warranties. You may not distribute, publicly display, publicly perform, or publicly digitally perform the Derivative Work with any technological measures that control access or use of the Work in a manner inconsistent with the terms of this License Agreement. The above applies to the Derivative Work as incorporated in a Collective Work, but this does not require the Collective Work apart from the Derivative Work itself to be made subject to the terms of this License.
  • If you distribute, publicly display, publicly perform, or publicly digitally perform the Work or any Derivative Works or Collective Works, You must keep intact all copyright notices for the Work and provide, reasonable to the medium or means You are utilizing: (i) the name of the Original Author (or pseudonym, if applicable) if supplied, and/or (ii) if the Original Author and/or Licensor designate another party or parties (e.g. a sponsor institute, publishing entity, journal) for attribution in Licensor's copyright notice, terms of service or by other reasonable means, the name of such party or parties; the title of the Work if supplied; to the extent reasonably practicable, the Uniform Resource Identifier, if any, that Licensor specifies to be associated with the Work, unless such URI does not refer to the copyright notice or licensing information for the Work; and in the case of a Derivative Work, a credit identifying the use of the Work in the Derivative Work (e.g., "French translation of the Work by Original Author," or "Screenplay based on original Work by Original Author"). Such credit may be implemented in any reasonable manner; provided, however, that in the case of a Derivative Work or Collective Work, at a minimum such credit will appear where any other comparable authorship credit appears and in a manner at least as prominent as such other comparable authorship credit.

5. Representations, Warranties and Disclaimer

UNLESS OTHERWISE AGREED TO BY THE PARTIES IN WRITING, LICENSOR OFFERS THE WORK AS-IS AND MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND CONCERNING THE MATERIALS, EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTIES OF TITLE, MERCHANTIBILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NONINFRINGEMENT, OR THE ABSENCE OF LATENT OR OTHER DEFECTS, ACCURACY, OR THE PRESENCE OF ABSENCE OF ERRORS, WHETHER OR NOT DISCOVERABLE. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO SUCH EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.

6. Limitation on Liability.

EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT REQUIRED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL LICENSOR BE LIABLE TO YOU ON ANY LEGAL THEORY FOR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THIS LICENSE OR THE USE OF THE WORK, EVEN IF LICENSOR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

7. Termination

  • This License and the rights granted hereunder will terminate automatically upon any breach by You of the terms of this License. Individuals or entities who have received Derivative Works or Collective Works from You under this License, however, will not have their licenses terminated provided such individuals or entities remain in full compliance with those licenses. Sections 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, and 8 will survive any termination of this License.
  • Subject to the above terms and conditions, the license granted here is perpetual (for the duration of the applicable copyright in the Work). Notwithstanding the above, Licensor reserves the right to release the Work under different license terms or to stop distributing the Work at any time; provided, however that any such election will not serve to withdraw this License (or any other license that has been, or is required to be, granted under the terms of this License), and this License will continue in full force and effect unless terminated as stated above.

8. Miscellaneous

  • Each time You distribute or publicly digitally perform the Work or a Collective Work, the Licensor offers to the recipient a license to the Work on the same terms and conditions as the license granted to You under this License.
  • Each time You distribute or publicly digitally perform a Derivative Work, Licensor offers to the recipient a license to the original Work on the same terms and conditions as the license granted to You under this License.
  • If any provision of this License is invalid or unenforceable under applicable law, it shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the remainder of the terms of this License, and without further action by the parties to this agreement, such provision shall be reformed to the minimum extent necessary to make such provision valid and enforceable.
  • No term or provision of this License shall be deemed waived and no breach consented to unless such waiver or consent shall be in writing and signed by the party to be charged with such waiver or consent.
  • This License constitutes the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the Work licensed here. There are no understandings, agreements or representations with respect to the Work not specified here. Licensor shall not be bound by any additional provisions that may appear in any communication from You. This License may not be modified without the mutual written agreement of the Licensor and You.