Documentation

This style guide is adapted from the Velero Style Guide.

This page outlines writing style guidelines for the Cartographer documentation and you should use this page as a reference you write or edit content. Note that these are guidelines, not rules. Use your best judgment as you write documentation, and feel free to propose changes to these guidelines. Changes to the style guide are made by the Cartographer maintainers as a group. To propose a change or addition create an issue/PR.

Content best practices

Use present tense

Do and Don't - Use present tense

Do	Don’t
This command starts a proxy.	This command will start a proxy.

Exception: Use future or past tense if it is required to convey the correct meaning.

Use active voice

Do and Don't - Use active voice

Do	Don’t
You can explore the API using a browser.	The API can be explored using a browser.
The YAML file specifies the replica count.	The replica count is specified in the YAML file.

Exception: Use passive voice if active voice leads to an awkward sentence construction.

Use simple and direct language

Use simple and direct language. Avoid using unnecessary phrases, such as saying “please.”

Do and Don't - Use simple and direct language

Do	Don’t
To create a ReplicaSet, …	In order to create a ReplicaSet, …
See the configuration file.	Please see the configuration file.
View the Pods.	With this next command, we’ll view the Pods.

Address the reader as “you”

Do and Don't - Addressing the reader

Do	Don’t
You can create a Deployment by …	We’ll create a Deployment by …
In the preceding output, you can see…	In the preceding output, we can see …

Avoid Latin phrases

Prefer English terms over Latin abbreviations.

Do and Don't - Avoid Latin phrases

Do	Don’t
For example, …	e.g., …
That is, …	i.e., …

Exception: Use “etc.” for et cetera.

Patterns to avoid

Avoid using “we”

Using “we” in a sentence can be confusing, because the reader might not know whether they’re part of the “we” you’re describing.

Do and Don't - Avoid using we

Do	Don’t
Version 1.4 includes …	In version 1.4, we have added …
Kubernetes provides a new feature for …	We provide a new feature …
This page teaches you how to use Pods.	In this page, we are going to learn about Pods.

Avoid jargon and idioms

Many readers speak English as a second language. Avoid jargon and idioms to help them understand better.

Do and Don't - Avoid jargon and idioms

Do	Don’t
Internally, …	Under the hood, …
Create a new cluster.	Turn up a new cluster.

Avoid statements about the future or that will soon be out of date

Avoid making promises or giving hints about the future. If you need to talk about a beta feature, put the text under a heading that identifies it as beta information.

Also avoid words like “recently”, “currently” and “new.” A feature that is new today might not be considered new in a few months.

Do and Don't - Avoid statements that will soon be out of date

Do	Don’t
In version 1.4, …	In the current version, …
The Federation feature provides …	The new Federation feature provides …

Language

This documentation uses U.S. English spelling and grammar.

Documentation formatting standards

Use camel case for API objects

When you refer to an API object, use the same uppercase and lowercase letters that are used in the actual object name. Typically, the names of API objects use camel case.

Don’t split the API object name into separate words. For example, use PodTemplateList, not Pod Template List.

Refer to API objects without saying “object,” unless omitting “object” leads to an awkward sentence construction.

Do and Don't - Do and Don't - API objects

Do	Don’t
The Pod has two containers.	The pod has two containers.
The Deployment is responsible for …	The Deployment object is responsible for …
A PodList is a list of Pods.	A Pod List is a list of pods.
The two ContainerPorts …	The two ContainerPort objects …
The two ContainerStateTerminated objects …	The two ContainerStateTerminateds …

Use angle brackets for placeholders

Use angle brackets for placeholders. Tell the reader what a placeholder represents.

1. Display information about a Pod:

    kubectl describe pod <pod-name> -n <namespace>
   

   If the pod is in the default namespace, you can omit the ‘-n’ parameter.

Use bold for user interface elements

Do and Don't - Bold interface elements

Do	Don’t
Click Fork.	Click “Fork”.
Select Other.	Select “Other”.

Use italics to define or introduce new terms

Do and Don't - Use italics for new terms

Do	Don’t
A cluster is a set of nodes …	A “cluster” is a set of nodes …
These components form the control plane.	These components form the control plane.

Use code style for filenames, directories, paths, object field names and namespaces

Do and Don't - Use code style for filenames, directories, paths, object field names and namespaces

Do	Don’t
Open the envars.yaml file.	Open the envars.yaml file.
Go to the /docs/tutorials directory.	Go to the /docs/tutorials directory.
Open the /_data/concepts.yaml file.	Open the /_data/concepts.yaml file.

Use punctuation inside quotes

Do and Don't - Use code style for filenames, directories, paths, object field names and namespaces

Do	Don’t
events are recorded with an associated “stage.”	events are recorded with an associated “stage”.
The copy is called a “fork.”	The copy is called a “fork”.

Exception: When the quoted word is a user input.

Example:

• My user ID is “IM47g”.
• Did you try the password “mycatisawesome”?

Inline code formatting

Use code style for inline code and commands

For inline code in an HTML document, use the <code> tag. In a Markdown document, use the backtick (`).

Do and Don't - Use code style for filenames, directories, paths, object field names and namespaces

Do	Don’t
The kubectl run command creates a Deployment.	The “kubectl run” command creates a Deployment.
For declarative management, use kubectl apply.	For declarative management, use “kubectl apply”.
Use single backticks to enclose inline code. For example, var example = true.	Use two asterisks (**) or an underscore (_) to enclose inline code. For example, var example = true.
Use triple backticks (```) before and after a multi-line block of code for fenced code blocks.	Use multi-line blocks of code to create diagrams, flowcharts, or other illustrations.
Use meaningful variable names that have a context.	Use variable names such as ‘foo’,‘bar’, and ‘baz’ that are not meaningful and lack context.
Remove trailing spaces in the code.	Add trailing spaces in the code, where these are important, because a screen reader will read out the spaces as well.

Starting a sentence with a component tool or component name

Do and Don't - Starting a sentence with a component tool or component name

Do	Don’t
The kubeadm tool bootstraps and provisions machines in a cluster.	kubeadm tool bootstraps and provisions machines in a cluster.
The kube-scheduler is the default scheduler for Kubernetes.	kube-scheduler is the default scheduler for Kubernetes.

Use normal style for string and integer field values

For field values of type string or integer, use normal style without quotation marks.

Do and Don't - Use normal style for string and integer field values

Do	Don’t
Set the value of imagePullPolicy to Always.	Set the value of imagePullPolicy to “Always”.
Set the value of image to nginx:1.16.	Set the value of image to nginx:1.16.
Set the value of the replicas field to 2.	Set the value of the replicas field to 2.

Code snippet formatting

Don’t include the command prompt

Do and Don't - Don't include the command prompt

Do	Don’t
kubectl get pods	$ kubectl get pods

Separate commands from output

Verify that the Pod is running on your chosen node:

kubectl get pods --output=wide

The output is similar to this:

NAME     READY     STATUS    RESTARTS   AGE    IP           NODE
nginx    1/1       Running   0          13s    10.200.0.4   worker0

Cartographer word list

A list of Cartographer-specific terms and words to be used consistently across the site.

Cartographer word list

Trem	Usage
Kubernetes	Kubernetes should always be capitalized.
Docker	Docker should always be capitalized.
Cartographer	Cartographer should always be capitalized.
VMware	VMware should always be correctly capitalized.
On-premises	On-premises or on-prem rather than on-premise or other variations.
Backup	Backup rather than back up, back-up or other variations.
Plugin	Plugin rather than plug-in or other variations.
Allowlist	Use allowlist instead of whitelist.
Denylist	Use denylist instead of blacklist.

Markdown elements

Headings

People accessing this documentation may use a screen reader or other assistive technology (AT). Screen readers are linear output devices, they output items on a page one at a time. If there is a lot of content on a page, you can use headings to give the page an internal structure. A good page structure helps all readers to easily navigate the page or filter topics of interest.

Do and Don't - Headings

Do	Don’t
Include a title on each page or blog post.	Include more than one title headings (#) in a page.
Use ordered headings to provide a meaningful high-level outline of your content.	Use headings level 4 through 6, unless it is absolutely necessary. If your content is that detailed, it may need to be broken into separate articles.
Use sentence case for headings. For example, Extend kubectl with plugins	Use title case for headings. For example, Extend Kubectl With Plugins

Paragraphs

Do and Don't - Paragraphs

Do	Don’t
Try to keep paragraphs under 6 sentences.	Write long-winded paragraphs.
Use three hyphens (---) to create a horizontal rule for breaks in paragraph content.	Use horizontal rules for decoration.

Links

Do and Don't - Links

Do	Don’t
Write hyperlinks that give you context for the content they link to. For example: Certain ports are open on your machines. See check required ports for more details.	Use ambiguous terms such as “click here”. For example: Certain ports are open on your machines. See here for more details.
Write Markdown-style links: [link text](URL). For example: [community meeting agenda](https://hackmd.io/Jq6F5zqZR7S80CeDWUklkA) and the output is community meeting agenda.	Write HTML-style links: Visit our tutorial!

Lists

Group items in a list that are related to each other and need to appear in a specific order or to indicate a correlation between multiple items. When a screen reader comes across a list—whether it is an ordered or unordered list—it will be announced to the user that there is a group of list items. The user can then use the arrow keys to move up and down between the various items in the list. Website navigation links can also be marked up as list items; after all they are nothing but a group of related links.

• End each item in a list with a period if one or more items in the list are complete sentences. For the sake of consistency, normally either all items or none should be complete sentences.

• Ordered lists that are part of an incomplete introductory sentence can be in lowercase and punctuated as if each item was a part of the introductory sentence.

• Use the number one (1.) for ordered lists.

• Use (+), (*), or (-) for unordered lists - be consistent within the same document.

• Leave a blank line after each list.

• Indent nested lists with four spaces (for example, ⋅⋅⋅⋅).

• List items may consist of multiple paragraphs. Each subsequent paragraph in a list item must be indented by either four spaces or one tab.

Tables

The semantic purpose of a data table is to present tabular data. Sighted users can quickly scan the table but a screen reader goes through line by line. A table caption is used to create a descriptive title for a data table. Assistive technologies (AT) use the HTML table caption element to identify the table contents to the user within the page structure.

If you need to create a table, create the table in markdown and use the table Hugo shortcode to include a caption.

{{< table caption="Configuration parameters" >}}

| Parameter | Description | Default |
|:---------|:------------|:------- |
| `timeout` | The timeout for requests | `30s` |
| `logLevel` | The log level for log output | `INFO` |

{{< /table >}}

Note: This shortcode does not support markdown reference-style links. Use inline-style links in tables. See more information about markdown link styles.