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 =head1 The Maypole Manual
 
+The Maypole documentation is arranged over several files; this is 
+the right one to start with, as it provides an overview of the
+entire set of Maypole manuals, with a brief description of each.
+Some of these manuals are not yet finished, but they should still
+be useful.
+
 =over 4
 
-=item L<Manual::About> - Overview of the Manual *
+=item L<Manual::About> - Overview of the Project
+
+This document is a general introduction to Maypole: What it is
+(a framework for Web development), what it does (at the basic
+level, it converts a URL
+(e.g. C<http://www.mysite.com/product/display/12>) into a
+method call (i.e. "perform the C<display> method on item C<12>
+in the C<product> table") and then shows the result (here,
+presumably, a description of item C<12> in your product
+database)), and how it works (by MVC, a design paradigm in
+which each major aspect of an application's operation is
+handled by a different and totally separate system). Basic
+installation instructions are given. A sample Web
+application--the Beer database--is introduced, set up, and
+discussed. Finally, the path a Maypole request takes as it
+moves through the system is described.
+
+=item L<Manual::Model> - Model Classes *
+
+This document introduces the I<model class>, which controls
+the interaction between Maypole and your database. The use of
+"actions"--method calls that operate on your database--is
+discussed. Maypole's default model class is L<Class::DBI>,
+which basically creates a class for each table in your
+database and provides a variety of convenient methods for
+manipulating each table and its relations. It integrates very
+smoothly with Maypole's default L<view class|"Manual::View">,
+the L<Template> Toolkit.
+
+=item L<Manual::View> - View Classes *
+
+This document is an extensive discussion of Maypole's I<view
+class>, which takes the data produced by the model (see
+L<above|"Manual::Model">) and sends it through a templating
+system in order to produce output. It focusses chiefly on
+the L<Template> Toolkit, which is Maypole's default templating
+system, but discusses other possibilities.
+
+=item L<Manual::StandardTemplates> - Standard actions and templates *
+
+This document discusses the standard actions and templates
+that Maypole uses. The standard actions (method calls that
+operate on your database) include C<list>, which generates a
+paged list of a table suitable for browsing, and C<search>, which
+handles a search query and generates search results.
+
+The standard templates (which generate output for display on
+the Web) include C<list>, which displays the entries in a
+table, and C<search>, which displays the result of a search.
+
+You'll note that most actions are associated with templates.
 
-=item L<Manual::View> - View Classes
+This document also introduces the theory behind Maypole's
+actions and templates, showing you how to write your own
+so that you can have a highly customized application.
 
-=item L<Manual::Model> - Model Classes
+=item L<Manual::Workflow> - Description of the Maypole Workflow 
 
-=item L<Manual::StandardTemplates> - Standard templates and actions
+This is a technical document that describes the progress of a
+request through the entire Maypole system. It should be of
+interest chiefly to those people hacking on Maypole itself,
+and not to most of those who are using it.
 
-=item L<Maual::Workflow> - Description of the Maypole Workflow *
+=item L<Manual::Beer> - The Beer Database Revisited *
 
-=item L<Manual::Beer> - The Beer Database Revisited
+This document gives a close look at the Beer database that
+was introduced in L<Manual::About>.
 
-=item L<Manual::Request> - The Request Cookbook *
+=item L<Manual::Request> - The Request Cookbook 
 
-=item L<Manual::Flox> - Case Study: Flox social network
+This extensive document is Maypole's main "How do I do X?" FAQ.
+It provides a wide variety of cookbook-like techniques that
+are useful both for themselves, and as examples of what sort
+of things can be done with Maypole processes.
 
-=item L<Manual::IBuySpy> - Case Study: iBuySpy
+=item L<Manual::Flox> - Case Study: Flox social network *
+
+This is an example of how to construct a large Web application
+in Maypole: a "social network", similar to Friendster and
+Orkut. It shows, specifically, the database structure and the
+variety of customized techniques that make such a system
+work.
+
+=item L<Manual::IBuySpy> - Case Study: iBuySpy *
+
+This is an example of the C<ASP.NET> sample portal application
+ported to Maypole. L<http://www.ibuyspy.com> is a fictional
+e-commerce site that is relatively sophisticated. It is much
+better as a Maypole application.
 
 =back
 
-  * indicates complete chapters.
+  * indicates incomplete chapters.
+
+
+=head1 AUTHOR
+
+Sebastian Riedel, C<sri@oook.de>
+
+This overview written by Jesse Sheidlower, C<jester@panix.com>,
+based on Simon Cozens' original I<Overview> document.
+
+=head1 AUTHOR EMERITUS
+
+Simon Cozens, C<simon@cpan.org>
 
 =cut