The person responsible for writing hardware and software documentation, online help, product descriptions and technical definitions. Quite often, the technical writer is given the task of documenting an application at the last minute without having time to thoroughly understand all the options.
A Necessary Evil
Some companies strive to ensure all explanations and documentation of their products and services are crystal clear; however, most do not. As a result, technical writers are often given less attention than other professionals in the tech industry. Almost all the documentation we read could be better, and much of it is downright indecipherable. Is it any wonder that even technicians avoid reading manuals? See
RTFM.
A Note from the Author
Describing technical material is as difficult a job as some of the most complex programming. I know because I have been doing both for more than 60 years. However, bad programming is invisible. As long as the program seems to work, nobody has any idea how many resources are being wasted behind the scenes or how long it will take to make code changes later on.
But, poor writing is visible... up front... staring you in the face. And, "you" are an expert in judging its quality. If well written, the most complicated material can be brought down to bite-sized chunks that are understandable. If you have to read and reread over and over to make any sense of it, you have the right to call it rubbish. If you find anything in this encyclopedia that is not clear, please email me (alan@computerlanguage.com).