created: 20141226192500000
title: Reference Tiddlers
tags: documenting

Reference tiddlers offer raw information in a comprehensive interlinked way. The reader is likely to be an intermediate or expert user.

There are several subcategories:

* ''Concepts''
** With definitions, together forming a glossary
* ''User manual''
** Presenting technical details of ~WikiText features
** Subcategorised: messages, operators, widgets, etc
* ''Developer manual''
** Presenting technical details of ~TiddlyWiki's internal architecture

Reference material is written in a terse, formal style that avoids referring to the reader, and instead focuses on how ~TiddlyWiki itself behaves. The passive voice is often suitable:

* "the template can be specified as a tiddler" rather than "specify the template as a tiddler"
* "the widget can be used for various purposes" rather than "you can use the widget for various purposes"
* But "this widget has several possible uses" is better, because it is more succinct

Contracted verb forms are normally avoided in reference tiddlers.

To reduce the risk that the reader will overlook the word "not", it can be italicised.