<page xmlns="http://projectmallard.org/1.0/"
      type="topic"
      id="tech-help">
<info>
  <link type="guide" xref="tech" group="help"/>
  <desc>Topic-oriented online help system</desc>
  <revision pkgversion="3.0" date="2011-04-05" status="final"/>
</info>

<title>Help</title>

<p>Users sometimes need a little help, even with the best-designed
applications. GNOME provides a built-in topic-oriented help system
that uses the <link href="http://projectmallard.org/">Mallard</link>
markup language. Pioneered by GNOME developers, Mallard is an agile
and dynamic language that helps you write and revise quickly.  Its
topic-oriented design means your users can find the answers they
need without sifting through a manual. With its unique linking and
organization system, Mallard is the only language designed to handle
plugin and vendor help in one coherent document.</p>

<p>When you do need linear manuals, GNOME also supports the
industry-standard <link href="http://docbook.org/">DocBook</link>
format.</p>

<list style="compact">
  <item><p><link href="http://projectmallard.org/about/learn/tenminutes.html">Ten Minute Mallard Tour</link></p></item>
  <item><p><link href="http://projectmallard.org/">The Mallard web site</link></p></item>
  <item><p><link href="http://docbook.org/">The DocBook web site</link></p></item>
</list>
</page>
