From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.4.2 (2018-09-13) on inbox.vuxu.org X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=-1.0 required=5.0 tests=HEADER_FROM_DIFFERENT_DOMAINS, MAILING_LIST_MULTI,RCVD_IN_DNSWL_NONE autolearn=ham autolearn_force=no version=3.4.2 Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (minnie.tuhs.org [45.79.103.53]) by inbox.vuxu.org (OpenSMTPD) with ESMTP id 5e7938b8 for ; Fri, 16 Nov 2018 17:36:14 +0000 (UTC) Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id D4142A26E9; Sat, 17 Nov 2018 03:36:13 +1000 (AEST) Received: from minnie.tuhs.org (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 92CEDA26D4; Sat, 17 Nov 2018 03:36:00 +1000 (AEST) Received: by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix, from userid 112) id D640E93FC6; Sat, 17 Nov 2018 03:35:59 +1000 (AEST) X-Greylist: delayed 404 seconds by postgrey-1.35 at minnie.tuhs.org; Sat, 17 Nov 2018 03:35:59 AEST Received: from kvm5.telegraphics.com.au (kvm5.telegraphics.com.au [98.124.60.144]) by minnie.tuhs.org (Postfix) with ESMTP id 644E893FC6 for ; Sat, 17 Nov 2018 03:35:59 +1000 (AEST) Received: from macpro.local (unknown [10.210.249.17]) by kvm5.telegraphics.com.au (Postfix) with ESMTP id 6B4A9281EB; Fri, 16 Nov 2018 12:29:14 -0500 (EST) To: Paul Winalski , Grant Taylor References: <201811160003.wAG03mlF139232@tahoe.cs.Dartmouth.EDU> <20181116045016.GK3341@mcvoy.com> <7a632484-cdc7-7c59-7077-7a2c752045da@spamtrap.tnetconsulting.net> From: Toby Thain Openpgp: preference=signencrypt Autocrypt: addr=toby@telegraphics.com.au; prefer-encrypt=mutual; keydata= xsBNBFVqRckBCACdUBQ565VYFZgKu+JjAeV2T/QIITeO+kPhViKuWooJADKB0Xra+AUSilML bmLYIPE1ZAWU3b12q0IxofU9wLe2AyQ/KIrUN891Fydhdsg6xVXRITrDobHUTyMQ8KlXMXO4 zsUq5TtlNkNbHOw6WCyoRpWUYJ1otpWVnjKLJFsvbSgtdjn2fZOLHL00wjZL+oYsFcx7aiYg bRQ7oO7nnDz7NyM/gsGWJazFLpZs1tuJSjR/ruYHCqyCa3VX1FaquVrHPkOWg0D5npDaSCWX 3OgbrarP75l43DLBuROuSJkZvLs41jrkhFeFSik2nZUwiSZWzsWAUMGMGCbGU2LljArzABEB AAHNL1RvYnkgVGhhaW4gKE1hYyBQcm8pIDx0b2J5QHRlbGVncmFwaGljcy5jb20uYXU+wsCP BBMBAgA5AhsDBgsJCAcDAgYVCAIJCgsEFgIDAQIeAQIXgBYhBAVB4kPONsxSK13M05k7tV74 aS2yBQJb7srkAAoJEJk7tV74aS2yhZ0IAIB0xPUNyDPf0euMXBV6c0Of0DF7Xvg/z3322jWP sHSyIcv2+Th4cByNjUC/IdMmwLWLKGclN/t8arDLl2UaT3FgPUCZLHP+SYgtkdyw4iXhByD4 wl8E23IU08tq9MouO9IQ9PJs0szkBS/HorAaK1dHt01HyuF72Batb6RTtvNYz4LIr6ECwgAS geRSt1olUds3pXPgwZYD/l4NAJOwDuKTtNGo0867zUn82703wWnLC4BupvcMs31jI4GJU6Nl wuVEpo3KQbaEJiaddTGkMGwOlSaPaDc6/6bl62X0LmJL9JCDefudqJEe23HjQVrwqZbJ6hZG vgLmjwH8SKAl/xHOwE0EVWpFyQEIALgVpxkG/EwDLpu3l3qPGzwdoUVh1ciunWc8N7h4n+0y H90BtCjhDR96tOpfCDOpNA9iazOHdSPDaoufEdvbSZCAAFZwOom6xVKMv0SnYB7CPXdVrb7K F9PgJlQ1LKKapCQYsOAaOb3V1nNfz8UvU0o7CUUa6ko/DCCR9+QiqsrPbErS4L4RbU4yuxcb 1rE0g83fiom/ypG/2z+6d0z8HX5oG6PLqpbAJ56a+UtGDMFvpKVkI8au93YMDCyUa8KGgsfc GWpVaxab8YkJOIgpEEaPRa5meo/UFFxfF8SmIoSiHfrMbNx83Vl0FCexuoKhNOOF2A3F+q+D i+5Q7TtkHMkAEQEAAcLAXwQYAQIACQUCVWpFyQIbDAAKCRCZO7Ve+Gktso0VB/0cNfygjw1u k/JE/xIa0D+oD+lYhjIS40v9aazGmwihGjZi29YWw6njh60j8eUu8FSmB2Rl1eLWGTG2TGz9 u3gOHpniymeeFAWPqRUVJRHRSeDxdJaV7Nx3KGysjeTj2IRHA7gU2SHClrWFZ0g5Vy75oOCk 2VeCNC7kN7PemGIlgu4zOqDDX/jUlrUoUAqTaoT4MAQNuG8dyLyE3sfrC4n7qbG1TxUGTXuS LFphJQSDcvn0WAdolwTZ3YT8cwq2KrQDbmESg425J8cdqmaMI5mJgucWf4tmAEMyjde1jRYh oQDyMgQXXY/+QvS5a7dpz4l9UZwz1bXTr32jJ/+UKrHM Message-ID: Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2018 12:29:13 -0500 User-Agent: Mozilla/5.0 (Macintosh; Intel Mac OS X 10.11; rv:52.0) Gecko/20100101 Thunderbird/52.9.1 MIME-Version: 1.0 In-Reply-To: Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8 Content-Language: en-US Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit 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: , Cc: tuhs@minnie.tuhs.org Errors-To: tuhs-bounces@minnie.tuhs.org Sender: "TUHS" On 2018-11-16 11:55 AM, Paul Winalski wrote: > On 11/16/18, Grant Taylor via TUHS wrote: >> On 11/15/2018 10:32 PM, Dave Horsfall wrote: >>> The Unix manpage format is the epitome of perfection; they tell you >>> everything you need to know, and in the right order. Frequently I >>> cannot recall a particular flag (but I know what it does), and it's >>> right there at the start. >> >> 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. >> > 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. 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. GNU understood the difference, and wrote separate manuals (e.g. `info bash`, `info bison`, etc). > > -Paul W. >