> Hurl is a command line tool powered by curl, that runs HTTP requests defined in a simple plain text format: <code sample>
This is how every new version announcement should start! I'd never heard of Hurl before and that intro + code sample on top instantly made me want to install and try it out.
Hi, maintainer of Hurl and avid reader of Hacker News for years. I've noted every advice for presentations (put a sample of your language asap, explain your concept every time succinctly, etc...). I've tried to put it in practice on hurl.dev so thank you for noticing it!
Amen. Far too many announcements and readmes jump right into installation requirements and “we’ve fixed X, Y and Z” but never actually tell you what the thing is!
A changelog is supposed to tell you what has changed.
A general greeting/landing page is supposed to tell you what the thing is.
Trouble is if a link to a changelog is submitted to HN. Most people who don't know what the thing is click on it, have no clue what they are looking it, close it again and then downvote the submission.
Submissions for not-widely-known stuff should be a landing page, not a changelog page.
(In other words, this hurl page is kind of a mix between these two which is odd and arguably misusing what a changlog / news announcement page should be.)
We've a more "classic" changelog in GitHub [1], I see the blog post as an editorial view of the changelog: highlights of main features/changes with some context.
What irks me is when the project description focuses on "Updog is written from scratch in Deactivated Typeflange" or whatever. So many github readme's where I have a pretty good idea about why the devs chose the language and toolchain they chose but zero idea of what the project does and why I might want to use it.
Happy to notice the "Locate the logo on top left corner and click" works in this case! I'm immediately forward to a page that provides exactly what I need.
This is how every new version announcement should start! I'd never heard of Hurl before and that intro + code sample on top instantly made me want to install and try it out.
Congrats on what seems like a great release