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[69.109.130.206]) by smtp.gmail.com with ESMTPSA id h15sm8180800vsd.3.2018.11.16.16.25.10 for (version=TLS1_2 cipher=ECDHE-RSA-AES128-GCM-SHA256 bits=128/128); Fri, 16 Nov 2018 16:25:11 -0800 (PST) From: Earl Baugh Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable Mime-Version: 1.0 (1.0) Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2018 19:25:09 -0500 Message-Id: <7006C2DA-5945-49D4-A264-050034A4FEAB@gmail.com> References: <201811160003.wAG03mlF139232@tahoe.cs.Dartmouth.EDU> <20181116045016.GK3341@mcvoy.com> <7a632484-cdc7-7c59-7077-7a2c752045da@spamtrap.tnetconsulting.net> <20181116222603.A8363156E40C@mail.bitblocks.com> Cc: tuhs@minnie.tuhs.org In-Reply-To: <20181116222603.A8363156E40C@mail.bitblocks.com> X-Mailer: iPhone Mail (16B92) Subject: Re: [TUHS] man-page style X-BeenThere: tuhs@minnie.tuhs.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.20 Precedence: list List-Id: The Unix Heritage Society mailing list List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: tuhs-bounces@minnie.tuhs.org Sender: "TUHS" I started on Unix in the =E2=80=9880=E2=80=99s and it was to help out a frie= nd with adding waves to a ray tracing system he was building. I knew C at th= e time... my friend gave me like 5 vi commands and sat me down in front of t= he terminal with a visual bell. (Luckily I don=E2=80=99t have epilepsy or al= l that flashing would have had me in seizures :-) ) After answering about 30 questions about library calls available, he taught m= e the most useful thing I ever learned for Unix. =E2=80=9Cman -k | grep =E2=80=9D. =46rom there on out, I was on my own and completely equipped t= o learn all I needed.=20 As a side note, when I saw Google fir the first time, I said =E2=80=9Coh, ma= n -k | grep for the web....=E2=80=9D Earl=20 > On Nov 16, 2018, at 5:25 PM, Bakul Shah wrote: >=20 >> On Fri, 16 Nov 2018 11:55:28 -0500 Paul Winalski wrote: >>> On 11/16/18, Grant Taylor via TUHS wrote: >>>=20 >>> I think man pages make a great reference. But I don't think they are a >>> good teaching source for someone that doesn't know the material or what >>> the components are for. >>>=20 >> I agree with Grant. If you want to know what a particular command >> does and what its options are, man pages are fantastic. If you are a >> new or casual user trying to find out what command(s) to use to >> accomplish a particular task, the man pages are an exercise in >> frustration and futility. =20 >=20 > When I first came to Unix, I read man pages for every one of > the commands in /bin and experimented with them and tried out > various options. Being a fan of recursion the first thing I > tried was "man man"! Then I went through all the man pages in > other section to learn about libc functions, special devices > and so on. I knew about "apropos" (though don't recall if it > was in v7) but I didn't really use it all that much. Or the > inverted index. >=20 > I tend to think software has more in common with carpentry > than science or engineering and like all good craftsman, > knowing how to use all the tools in your workshop is > essential. If you get lucky you get to be an apprentice to a > good mentor but I didn't have that luxury in a startup. >=20 >> Other OSes have done a better job in that >> area (the VMS and DTSS HELP commands come to mind). IMO ideally one >> should have both--a generalized "help" command for those trying to >> find out what command to use, and "man" as reference material. UNIX >> and Linux have never had a proper help facility. Or at least I never >> was able to find it. >=20 > I had usd VMS befoe Unix. Not for long but I don't recall its > help facility being particularly superior. >=20 > Each of us learns differently so there is no one true style.