Introduction
I would like to author a help file for my Plate Manager clojure application. I queried the Clojure google group but did not get any response as to which options might be viable. About 15 years ago I used JavaHelp for a java application I wrote. Given that clojure runs on top of java, I considered JavaHelp as an option.
The most recent update to javahelp, v2.0.05, appears to be from 2010. That could be a cause for concern or evidence of a mature full featured API. I remember the old Windows 3.1 .hlp files were very efficient with useful features like hyperlinks, full text search, context sensitive help, etc. Even Windows though has now migrated to an html based help format with the .chm files.
JavaHelp help content files are written in html. There are additional XML files that organize headings, table of content, search, context sensitive help, etc. Here is a view of the MainWindow interface. It also has a popup window without multiple frames and buttons, as well as tooltip help.
After a bit of hacking, I conclude that JavaHelp will work and is best implemented in three steps, for which I will generate three posts:
- Generate html help files using jhelpdev
- Use java to test and learn which javahelp methods are needed
- Translate to clojure
It does not seem like Oracle is forthcoming with information on javahelp. I had to poke around and ultimately downloaded api files from other sites. I have collected them on my git site for you to retrieve.