Merge package author documentation on GAP website into reference manual?

[fingolfin]

Should we perhaps merge https://www.gap-system.org/Packages/Authors/variablenames.html and https://www.gap-system.org/Packages/Authors/authors.html into the reference manual chapter on developing a package?

[ThomasBreuer]

Good idea. What was the aim of these HTML pages, perhaps to give a first impression about the different aspects of developing a GAP package, shorter (and hence less deterrent) than the chapter in the Reference Manual?

[fingolfin]

I can only guess what the aim for these pages was. Perhaps @olexandr-konovalov knows / remembers more?

Having a document that is not a reference manual but rather a guide for making a package (and for updating one) would be helpful. But people also need to find them...

[olexandr-konovalov]

Agree that it's a good idea. I think both pages were created before I took over the maintenance, I've updates slightly the 'authors' one and did not use 'variables'. In fact I should have been removing 'variables' and incorporate it into the manual then. So it's long overdue.

OTOH, 'authors' could be useful as a quick overview and stay - but I'd make it mainly containing pointers to relevant manual sections, than actual details, which may be harder to maintain...