<chapter id="intro-history" xreflabel="History">

    <title>Repository History</title>

    <para>
        The CentOS Artwork Repository started at CentOS Developers
        mailing list (<ulink
        url="mailto:centos-devel@centos.org">centos-devel@centos.org</ulink>)
        around 2008, on a discussion about how to automate slide
        images used by Anaconda.  In such discussion, Ralph Angenendt
        rose up his hand to ask &mdash;Do you have something to
        show?&mdash;.
    </para>

    <para>
        To answer the question, Alain Reguera Delgado suggested a bash
        script which combined SVG and SED files in order to produce
        PNG images in different languages &mdash;in conjunction with
        the proposition of creating a Subversion repository where
        translations and image production could be distributed inside
        The CentOS Community&mdash;.
    </para>

    <para>
        Karanbirn Sighn considered the idea intresting and provided
        the infrastructure necessary to support the effort. This way
        the <ulink
        url="https://projects.centos.org/trac/artwork/">CentOS Artwork
        SIG</ulink> and the <ulink
        url="https://projects.centos.org/svn/artwork/">CentOS Artwork
        Repository</ulink> were officially created.
    </para>

    <para>
        Once the CentOS Artwork Repository was available, Alain
        Reguera Delgado uploaded the bash script for rendering
        Anaconda slides; Ralph Angenendt documented it very well; and
        people started to download working copies of CentOS Artwork
        Repository to produce slide images in their own languages.
    </para>

    <sect1>
    <title>2009's</title>

     <para>
        Around 2009, the rendition script was at a very rustic state
        where only slide images could be produced, so it was
        redesigned to extend the image production to other areas,
        different from slide images.  In this configuration, one SVG
        file was used as input to produce a translated instance of it
        which, in turn, was used to produce one translated PNG image
        as output. The SVG translated instance was created through SED
        replacement commands. The translated PNG image was created
        from the SVG translated instance using Inkscape command-line
        interface.
    </para>

    <para>
        The repository directory structure was prepared to receive the
        rendition script using design templates and translation files
        in the same location. There was one directory structure for
        each artwork that needed to be produced. In this
        configuration, if you would want to produce the same artwork
        with a different visual style or structure, it was needed to
        create a new directory structure for it because both the image
        structure and the image visual style were together in the
        design template.
    </para>

    <para>
        The rendition script was moved to a common place and linked
        from different directory structures. There was no need to have
        the same code in different directory structures if it could be
        in just one place and then be linked from different locations.
    </para>

    <para>
        Corporate identity concepts began to be considered. As
        referece, it was used the book "Corporate Identity" by Wally
        Olins (1989) and <ulink
        url="http://en.wikipedia.org/Corporate_identity">Wikipedia</ulink>
        related links. This way, the rendition script main's goal
        becomes to: <emphasis>automate the production process of a
        monolithic corporate visual identity structure, based on the
        mission and the release schema of The CentOS
        Project</emphasis>.
    </para>

    <para>
        The repository directory structures began to be documented by
        mean of flat text files. Later, documentation in flat text
        files was moved onto LaTeX format and this way the "The CentOS
        Artwork Repository" documentation manual is initiated.
    </para>
    </sect1>

    <sect1>
    <title>2010's</title>

    <para>
        Around 2010, the rendition script changed its name from
        <command>render.sh</command> to
        <command>centos-art.sh</command> and became a collection of
        functionalities where rendition was just one among others
        (e.g., documentation and localization).
    </para>

    <para>
        The <command>centos-art.sh</command> was initially conceived
        to automate frequent tasks inside the repository based in the
        idea of Unix toolbox: to create small and specialized tools
        that do one thing well.  This way, functionalities inside
        <command>centos-art.sh</command> began to be identified and
        separated one another. For example, when images were rendered,
        there was no need to load functionalities related to
        documentation manual. This layout moved us onto <quote>common
        functionalities</quote> and <quote>specific
        functionalities</quote> inside
        <command>centos-art.sh</command> script. Common
        functionalities are loaded when
        <command>centos-art.sh</command> script is initiated and are
        available to specific functionalities.
    </para>

    <para>
        Suddenly, no need was found to keep all the links spreaded
        around the repository in order to execute the
        <command>centos-art.sh</command> script from different
        locations.  The centos-art command-line interface was used
        instead. The centos-art command-line interface is a symbolic
        link stored inside the <filename
        class="directory">~/bin</filename> directory that point to
        <command>centos-art.sh</command> script. As default
        configuration, inside The CentOS Distribution, the path to
        <filename class="directory">~/bin</filename> is included in
        the search path for commands (see PATH environment variable).
        This way, using the centos-art command-line interface, it is
        possible for us to execute the
        <command>centos-art.sh</command> script from virtually
        anywhere inside the workstation, just as we frequently do with
        regular commands.
    </para>

    <para>
        Start using GNU getopt as default option parser inside the
        <command>centos-art.sh</command> script.
    </para>

    <para>
        The repository directory structure was updated to improve the
        implementation of corporate visual identity concepts.
        Specially in the area related to themes. Having both structure
        and style in the same file introduced content duplication when
        producing art works.  Because of this reason, they were
        divided out to separate directory structures: the design
        models and artistic motifs directory structures.  From this
        point on, the <command>centos-art.sh</command> is able to
        produce themes as result of arbitrary combinations between
        design models (structures) and artistic motifs (visual
        styles).
    </para>

    <para>
        In the documentation area, the documents in LaTeX format were
        migrated to Texinfo format. In this configuration, each
        directory structure in the repository has a documentation
        entry associated in a Texinfo structure which can be read,
        edited and administered (e.g., renamed, deleted and copied)
        interactively through <command>centos-art.sh</command> script.
        Additionally, the texi2html program was used to produced
        customized XHTML output in conjunction with CSS from The
        CentOS Webenv.
    </para>
    </sect1>

    <sect1>
    <title>2011's</title>

    <para>
        Around 2011, the <command>centos-art.sh</command> script was
        redesigned to start translating XML-based files (e.g., SVG and
        Docbook files) through <command>xml2po</command> program and
        shell scripts (e.g., Bash scripts) through GNU gettext tools.
        This configuration provided a stronger localization interface
        for graphic designers, translators and programmers. The SED
        replacement files are no longer used to handle localization.
    </para>

    <para>
        The <code>render</code>, <code>help</code> and
        <code>locale</code> functionalities were consolidated as the
        most frequent tasks performed inside the repository.
        Additionally, the prepare and tuneup functionalities are also
        maintained as useful tasks.
    </para>

    <para> 
        In the documentation area, support for producing localized
        transformations of DocBook XML DTD instances was added through
        the <code>render</code> and locale functionalities. The
        <code>render</code> functionality uses the xsltproc
        command-line <acronym>XSLT</acronym> parser in conjunction
        with the styles provided by the
        <package>docbook-style-xsl</package> package, both of them
        included inside The CentOS Distribution.  The locale
        functionality creates the localized portable object
        (<acronym>PO</acronym>) the <code>render</code> functionality
        needs to produce localized transformations of DocBook XML DTD
        instances.  
    </para> 

    <para>
        To build DocBook documentation, it was considered the idea of
        using concepts behind repository directory structure as base,
        not the opposite (as I've been doing with Texinfo backend, so
        far).
    </para>

    <para>
        Producing documentation through DocBook XML as default
        documentation backend consolidates <code>render</code> and
        <code>locale</code> even more.  In this configuration, once
        the DocBook files are written, you use <code>locale</code>
        functionality to localize the DocBook files in your prefered
        language and later, using <code>render</code> functionality,
        you produce the XTHML and PDF outputs as specified in a XSLT
        or DSL customization layer.
    </para>

    </sect1>

</chapter>