Hydrogen: Create a new to programming section

[rgbkrk]

It would be great to be able to direct more atom-script users over to Hydrogen. I hesitate a little bit since the Jupyter wording (kernels, jupyter, etc.) is quite a bit to digest in the initial part of the README.

What could we do to make Hydrogen welcoming to newer programmers who may have never used Jupyter?

/cc @willingc

[willingc]

What comes to mind off the top of my head would be a visual at the top:

atom-script screenshot --> Hydrogen screenshot --> nteract screenshot

Demonstrating the same script in all three environments (perhaps making the Hydrogen shot 1/3 larger than the other two for focus).

It's probably time to consider docs for most of what follows below and then keep the README as a nav to the docs and "new user" friendly discussion of languages and applications with less jargon. Linking to the docs for more detail.

So... what would the team like to use to create standalone docs?

[lgeiger]

Thanks for getting this started!

atom-script screenshot --> Hydrogen screenshot --> nteract screenshot
Demonstrating the same script in all three environments (perhaps making the Hydrogen shot 1/3 larger than the other two for focus).

That's a great idea!

@willingc I really like the idea of using standalone docs, since it would make our README less overwhelming.

So... what would the team like to use to create standalone docs?

What comes to my mind would be https://gitbook.com, Example: http://redux.js.org/.

What do you think? I haven't tried it yet.

We could also do everything manual and add it to https://github.com/nteract/nteract.io/pull/7 but that means probably a lot of work and would be harder to maintain.

[BenRussert]

I've been day dreaming a little bit about a plugin that provides an interactive tutorial on getting started. It would use tool-tips and stuff to walk through how to get your kernels installed, starting up a kernel, and running a few basic commands.

[kylebarron]

@BenRussert Any further thoughts about an interactive tutorial?

[BenRussert]

I've been day dreaming a little bit about a plugin that provides an interactive tutorial on getting started. It would use tool-tips and stuff to walk through how to get your kernels installed, starting up a kernel, and running a few basic commands.

Thanks @kylebarron for reminding me about this comment! A nice little blast from the past for me.

Initially, what stopped me from moving forward on this idea is that I was just learning js at the time and I thought i'd wait until I could handle it.

Now, almost 2 years later I know I could implement something like this, but I also know it would take a fair amount of time and I'm not sure if it's what I want to prioritize.

Do you think it would be valuable? As I'm writing this I'm starting to convince myself that I couId do this in a few hours... maybe I'll try getting started on it some weekend to see if I like where it's going early on :smile:.

[kylebarron]

I have no understanding for how complicated it would be. I kind of think that written documentation gives more bang for your buck, and it might be a better use of time to just create a written tutorial.