When FuelPHP started in 2010, this was done more or less deliberate, as we didn't position Fuel as a beginners framework. Partly because we didn't have (and up to a point we still don't) the manpower to support beginners. So it was decided to limit documentation to API documentation.
For Fuel v2 we are in the process of setting up a new docs system, which will be more focused around functionality, how-to's, problem solving guides, etc. API docs will be generated, and those wanting to know more can always look into the code.
We don't aim to be popular. We don't care how many users we have.
We do care about the product (as we use it ourselfs), and about the satisfaction of it's users.
The new docs will be written for Fuel v2, and are currently being setup. They will be published together with the first v2 beta release, which is expected sometime this summer.
FuelPHP's past, present and future as I see, is more dictatorial oriented. Why don't you give the rights to users to change the framework? Why don't you ask what users want but not what the team want? If you care about the satisfaction of your users, you will give them to choose the destiny of FuelPHP themselves with your permission? How can I modify the documentation myself or add an article that I wrote. See wikipedia, it is a good primer. And what will I get if I did it? You can add to your forum promotions.
FuelPHP is perhaps the only community framework, there were over 150 people who contributed code to it, and any PR sent will be evaluated and accepted if it meets the requirements.
Like the code, all documentation is on github too (https://github.com/fuel/docs), it you want to contribute, by all means, do. If you write external articles or tutorials, there is a section in the docs where we can link to them.
The problem is that 4 years experience has taught us that everyone complains like you do, but nobody does anything about it.
Unlike most other frameworks, we are not company backed, we have only our spare time to work on it. We are also a small team, and then you have to make a decision: am I going to use all my free time to help people learn to program PHP, or am I going to spend it to make the framework better? For me, the answer is clear:
I started this because I love to program, and I need a framework that suits my business. I am willing to spend some free time in helping users of the framework, I am not willing to give up my spare time to teach PHP for beginners.
You might think that is dictatorial, but who are you to dictate what I should do with my very valuable spare time?
You are exaggerating that FuelPHP is the only community framework, there were over 150 people who contributed code to it. I don't agree that it is the only one alone in the desert. I am not complaining as you said in your comment. How can I start doing something as for example producing tutorials as I don't know the framework good? It is impossible, so you can't say I am complaining and doing nothing for the community because I can't literally physically. If you are not company backed, this is good, you must be proud of spending time doing this. I don't understand that, I think if you have more users, you will have more popularity, more money, more quality, more ... more problems maybe sometime ... You changed my mind about what I said about dictatorship. You asked who I was? I am the voice in the desert.
No, you are someone with no experience, a beginner. You want to jump into the deep end, but you can't swim. And you complain that there is no one to hold your hand with every step you do. And that there is no toddler pool that keeps you from drowning.
And I'm saying that this is not a training ground. If you want to use a framework, any framework, and you want to be able to judge the framework on it's merits, you need to have object oriented PHP experience. And if you don't have that, don't start with a framework.
Yes, a framework with lots of tutorials and examples makes monkey behaviour easier (= repeat what other people show you), but without a solid background, you have no clue what you are doing, why the code you type does what it does, and what you must do when it doesn't do what it should.
And then the forums are flodded with people like you, with questions like this. Which takes up a lot of my valuable time, time I could have spend working on the framework.
So I repeat what I said earlier. We don't cater for the absolute beginner. We don't have the people for it, the time for it, the patience for it. When you use FuelPHP, we expect you to know your PHP. We expect you to read the docs, and if something is not clear, look at the class itself, and say "Ah, that is how it works". And go on.
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