Version 0.12 is out, it is a dramatic change from Version 0.11, I focused on licensing, online and PDF formatting issues. The book is now officially covered under a Creative Commons3.0 BY-ND-NC license. Check for yourself, this version is easier on the eyes.
PDF Version Formatting Changes
The PDF version can be downloaded, I made sure that all of the graphics had a consistent DPI and that the scaling issues in the past versions are fixed. This means that there are no more massive images that extend beyond a page boundary. I'd like to put more work into PDF formatting before we switch from Alpha to Beta, expect a better title page and some attention to the overall fonts and formatting. Remaining (big) issues with PDF are:
- Variable Lists have some serious indentation issues.
- Some of the code examples still trail off the right side of the page. Should I reduce the font size? Or should I just change the code? Time will tell.
License: Creative Commons 3.0 BY-ND-NC
Previous versions of this book were Copyright Sonatype, All Rights Reserved. We've yielded some rights in the interest of wider distribution, and the book is now licensed under CC 3.0 BY-ND-NC.
Online Formatting Changes
We put a great deal of effort into making sure that the online version of the book has a fixed width (easier to read). You should also not that we've turned on code formatting and highlighting to make it easier to read code samples.
On Deck: Community
I'm sick of books as static structures, and I'd be happier if this book had more "interactive" features. I'm currently looking into ways to inject user-generate content as well as add audio and video content to the book. We'll see what happens, but know that our goal is no less than changing the rules for online books. Stay tuned.
