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From: Hrvoje Niksic <hniksic@srce.hr>
Date: 01 Feb 1997 11:09:07 +0100
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 (brown@ftms.com) wrote:
> <This is the approach some programs use (e.g. elm), and some not
> <(Perl, Emacs[1]).  It is simply a matter of choice; I like the choice
> <zsh developers made.
> 
> Perl is a bad example, since there are books available in your local book
> store.  Zsh has no such book and really needs one.

No, it's not a bad example.  When I say online documentation, I mean
it.  I know I can always buy the book from the bookstore.

> <I don't see anything wrong with the "old-fashioned" help currently
> <used.  Before thinking about converting to something different, one
> <should think about all the advantages of PDF over TexInfo?  Is there a
> <freely available viewer for PDF files?  Can they be viewed on a text
> <terminal?
> 
> Advantages: graphical, can included visual examples (though I admit that there
>      isn't much in the way of graphics :-); the user can scale the size of
>      the help pages to suite the needs of the user; hypertext TOC and index;
>      just to name a few.

Texinfo has almost all of this.

> Disadvantages: doesn't work on text-only systems (how many of these are
>      still around

Then forget it.  Yes, there are many text-only systems around, believe
it or not.

> (one shouldn't cripple the on-line help because of a lack of
>      X-windows);

Remember; we're talking about the documentation of a Unix shell.

> I've used texinfo a few times and do not like the interface.  One tends to
> hit the return key to move down lines.  Well, that can't be done in texinfo
> help files (at least that is the way it used to be, is it still that way?).

You can always press `1 C-v', if you use Emacs.  RET is used to follow
nodes.

> In any event one can argue about the best way for both systems.  I personally
> prefer a physical copy of a manual.

It's quite easy to print out the Texinfo manuals.  Thus we can have it
both ways -- you will have a nice, printed copy, and we'll be able to
browse it online.

-- 
Hrvoje Niksic <hniksic@srce.hr> | Student at FER Zagreb, Croatia
--------------------------------+--------------------------------
Ask not for whom the <CONTROL-G> tolls.