Ask HN: How do you document your knowhow, past projects and lessons?
Previously, I did use gmail drafts, but now I use private installation of doku-wiki for documentation of my design, schemes, know-how, created source code (git module), lesson learned.
Wondering what use HN community, if there is better way or tools for that.
51 comments
[ 7.1 ms ] story [ 36.0 ms ] threadHas anyone used multiple wikis and can comment on the pros and cons? There are so many out there. The only one I know I don't like is Tiddlywiki.
https://github.com/gollum/gollum
Evernote's Search is much better than OneNote's (Windows' Search), searching seamlessly even inside attachments, but I absolutely hate the look of Evernote pages; just a personal thing. Could be something as simple as Tahoma vs. Calibri, but I think it's more than that...OneNote really looks good to my subjective eye. Plus I like the keyboard shortcuts.
For PDFs, get really good at whatever Reader you use w.r.t. annotation tools. I love PDF-Xchange Viewer for annotation (a Windows product).
OneNote is probably the closest thing that exists.
Other than that, I use Edge to write on pdf's. (Sometimes, if they're small, I just print them into OneNote and write there)
A thing many problably don't know: OneNote supports LaTex (with some differences) in the equation editor
A Leuchtterm1917 dotted notebook + mechanical pencil + ink/gel hybrid pen.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ENUIKC/ref=s9_acsd_hps...
For work I do under employment I tend to use org-mode and publish to whatever format suits them best. Often one of PDF, HTML, or Markdown.
I have been experimenting with using an org-mode based publishing system that syncs with my ReMarkable... it is taking over some of my note-taking. But I'm a chronic journal-keeper and have over a decade of notes and experience with my system.
I take a lot of "scratch" notes on paper, but often end up copying them into the computer at the end of the workweek. Usually they are quite a mess, and preserving them as-is makes for a challenge when using them in the future.
The other nice thing about notes on the computer is that they are easy to move around, tag, edit, etc. I can also integrate a tool like Zotero into my workflow, using pandoc-citeproc to keep a true bibliography and reference list.
I'm not saying you need all of those things, obviously. But I find them really helpful, and I would like to know how your system obviates the need for things like that. Do you write URLs by hand?
Meticulously.
For each subject I keep notes on (projects, mathematics, reading, etc) I use a series of journals and different styles.
For my projects I use a system somewhat similar to bullet journal[0]. The Leuchtterm journals are a great fit (and I'm glad I discovered them) because the pages are numbered and come with an index. I use the pocket at the back for reference cards.
I like taking notes using my personal notation and being able to think in a quiet room without a glowing screen, notifications, or the temptation to check HN is valuable. It helps me get in the flow and solve the real problems. When I get back to my work at the computer it's usually pretty rote.
For mathematics I use a dotted-pad with a system I developed for myself. I use smaller, lined books for my reading and diary.
And they all stay in my office in my home indexed by shelf. And it looks quite handsome I think. I don't know whether it will be a boon or a burden to those I leave behind when I'm gone some day but I enjoy having a hard reference copy of my development and ideas.
[0] http://bulletjournal.com/
How well does the pencil write on the Leuchtterm1917? I've definitely noticed that a lot of the notebooks people talk about—those by Rhodia, for instance—are great for using pens, but they don't have enough tooth for pencils to write well. I think I remember feeling the pages of the Leuchtterm in a bookstore and noticing the same smoothness, so I didn't pick one up. Was I mistaken?
I did try a Rhodia pad for my mathematics once when my order with the store was delayed and it wasn't as pleasing. It worked fine but the lead does smear a little bit too easily for the reasons you mentioned.
Both support Markdown and Syntax Highlighting. Quiver is lot more full featured programmer's notebook but I like Bear because its light and I prefer tag system.
The downside is that it's Apple-only at the moment. It's not a problem for me right now since I'm deep in the Apple ecosystem, but I'm keeping my eyes open for alternatives that are as polished as Bear, but are cross-platform.
Worst-case scenario, Bear can dump out to markdown files on disk (images too) if I ever need to migrate to something else.
I use orgmode, starting with a buffer with a few headings, URLs, and paragraphs on a topic. The buffer may be killed the same day or turn into 100k words spread over a few files a few years later, still easily searchable with org-agenda or grep and automatically exported to HTML for viewing on mobile. I don't bother with images or mobile editing due to complications--those are the main drawbacks.
https://mothemes.baby
If you want to try (in test mode now) send me an email to the address from my profile
It's also been useful for a 'show rather than tell' approach to technical Confluence documentation.
I've previously used LICEcap and Screenflow, but SnagIt also has some nice video capture options, with an option to convert to animated GIF. Also becoming a bit of a fan of Camtasia, but the output is regular video.
I briefly investigated tiddlywiki, used OneNote heavily for a while.
Currently I'm migrating to using JupyterLab notebooks on an ec2 instance with IP whitelisting.
It works pretty well, I have a kind of dream to connect it to a Datomic server instead of using filesystem notebooks and have relational notes.
What's the benefit of datomic vs. filesystem?
Most of my notes are to do with data or programming, and a lot are just script fragments on how to do something, I want to run them.
In theory I could hack jupyter and datomic to enable me to define relatinoships and query for notes instead of having either a text search or a single hierarchy navigation
We've been doing it from day 1 and realise how valuable is and will be, going forward. https://weardulo.com/blogs/origins
Depending on the "officialness," I write things down on either a legal pad or in a lab notebook dedicated to a project. Then the most important bits of this gets put into an org-mode "notebook."
I prefer writing things down first, I find that it sharpens my thinking around whatever I'm recording.
Though there are some other interesting ideas in here that I may try and steal.
My answer is the same. The tools don't matter much at all when it comes to documenting knowledge. Whatever gets used is best. Searchable is a plus.