WebLogic Platform ISV Partners' Guide
This chapter includes advice and considerations on preparing customer documentation, including for two scenarios:
Regardless of the type of partner you are (see Types of ISVs), whenever you prepare any software product to be distributed to customers, you should provide at a minimum documentation that includes the following:
Document completely the contents of your distribution; for example, the parts of WebLogic Platform that are included—that is, WebLogic Server, WebLogic Integration, WebLogic JRockit, and so on. Identify the version numbers in several obvious locations (this will help with support).
Describe completely the terms of the support and license provided with your product, and the warranty. Identify who your customers should contact, or what Web site they should use, if they need to use support services. Distinguish between the support you provide, versus that provided by BEA. (The support provided by BEA may depend on your support contract with BEA. See About BEA Partner Support, for more information.)
Document the installation application for your product, even if WebLogic Platform is installed and configured in silent-mode. Describe every step the customer needs to take; for example, how to download the distribution from the internet, how to identify the appropriate CD from a physical container, what item the customer chooses from the Start menu (if a Windows product).
Include, and identify plainly, any documentation that customers need to read before they install or use your product. Typically this information includes hardware and software prerequisites, memory and disk space requirements, and other resources that the customer will need to install or use your product. If applicable, this document should include any usage restrictions, or possibly any known problems that customers should know about.
If you are using the silent-mode installation and configuration features of WebLogic Platform to install and configure your product, be sure to prepare documentation for the customer that describes the following:
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If your product is designed to be installed interactively—that is, your customers must run the WebLogic Platform installation program, followed by the Configuration Wizard—be sure to prepare documentation for the customer that describes the following:
Depending on your license agreement with BEA, you might have the ability to redistribute Installing BEA WebLogic Platform. Explain clearly any required installation choices customers must make during the installation.
If you must include a cross-reference to a topic in the WebLogic Platform configuration documents for more information, be sure to make the cross-reference accurate and explicit. That is, make the cross-reference to a specific topic in a document, and not simply to the entire document itself. Customers do not want to wade through 200 pages of documentation for details about a specific configuration choice. It is assumed that you have also created a domain template, or template extension, for your application. (For information about templates and extension templates, see Configuring and Installing WebLogic Platform Applications.)
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