Linux-kernel mailing list archive 1999-32,: Re: info format (was Re: Linux 2.2.11pre4)

# Re: info format (was Re: Linux 2.2.11pre4)

Coy A Hile (hile@cse.psu.edu)
Sun, 8 Aug 1999 00:35:38 -0400 (EDT)

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Alan Curry sez....
>
>
> What we need is a group of people - not many, just 10 or so - who are willing
> to write the man pages for things that obviously _should_ have man pages but
> don't. Like libc6. Let's ask the Linux man-pages maintainer... [added to Cc:
> line]... Andries, what's your feeling on the direction of section 3 man
> pages? They currently mostly document libc5, but they are being distributed
> with systems that use libc6. IMNSHO, distributors who are shipping libc6
> should be shipping man pages that document libc6. Is there any major effort
> underway to make a set of man pages that would actually be accurate and
> complete on a modern Linux system? All the stuff that's in libc.info should
> be made available in /usr/man/man3 dammit. I know that if this is done, man3
> will be inherently always a little bit behind, but right now it is WAY behind
> and it's starting to smell bad.
>
> Aside from libc.info, there are also the other info pages - like GNU make,
> which started this thread, and groff, which is shockingly underdocumented
> ("This man page only describes the differences between UNIX roff and GNU
> roff"), and then there's the RedHat Syndrome, in which things like GNOME and
> utempter appear with no documentation at all...
>
> Those of us who want man pages to survive need to organize and start writing
> them. If such organization has already happened, someone point me to their
> TODO list so I can get started. If not, let's get going, before it's too late.
>

i definitely agree with the need for such good man pages. Unfortunately,
at the moment i have neither the time nor the wherewithal to undertake such
a project. However, should a group of people undertake this much needed
task, i'd like to be kept in the loop.

Thanks,

    --
    Coy Hile
    hile@cse.psu.edu
    "Theirs not to reason why; theirs but to do...."
    Tennyson, "Charge of the Light Brigade"

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