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)

Nathan Hand (nathanh@chirp.com.au)
Sun, 8 Aug 1999 17:32:39 +1000

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On Sun, Aug 08, 1999 at 12:56:50AM -0400, Mike A. Harris wrote:
> On Sat, 7 Aug 1999, Nathan Hand wrote:
> >On Fri, someone who apparently wasn't important enough to get a name...
[ talking about how perl is well served with bad man pages]

> >> indexed and hyperlinked manual is much more valuable for those kinds of
> >> applications.
> >
> >man -s perl chop, then put all perl manpages in /usr/man/manperl. this is
> >an entirely solvable problem using the existing man package.
>
> [root@asdf sysconfig]# man -s perl chop
> man: invalid option -- s
> man, version 1.5f

Bah, don't play dumb: man -S perl chop.

A quick demonstration with man version 1.5d on a work machine.

$ pwd
/usr/man/manperl
$ ls
chop.perl
$ man -S perl chop
...
chop(perl) Perl Programmers Reference Guide chop(perl)
...

More advanced versions of the man package support "subsections", so you
can type "man -e perl chop" and view the man page chop(3perl).

You don't need hyperlinked manuals. The "man" system is admittedly old
and cruddy, but well written and organised man pages make it better. I
don't think the current perlfunc(3) man page is very useful at all. It
would be far better to also have chop(perl) or chop(3perl).

    --
    Nathan Hand - Chirp Web Design - http://www.chirp.com.au/ - $e^{i\pi}+1 = 0$
    Phone: +61 2 6230 1871   Fax: +61 2 6230 1515   E-mail: nathanh@chirp.com.au

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