Hi,

--- On Thu, Aug 27, 2009 at 12:20 PM, Girish
Venkatachalam<[email protected]> wrote:
| The GNU info manual is very very long. It is comprehensive
| but very boring.
\--

I would like to add that there are two types of documentation that one
should learn to work with:

* HOWTOs: start from A, for example, and finish at B. So, if one wants
to accomplish B, one has to follow the HOWTO step-by-step, strictly.
Examples are tldp.org, blog posts.

Newbies usually skip some steps in between, and get stuck somewhere
between A and B, and call for help. Learning to backtrack, and verify
that one has completed the mentioned steps in order is also essential
in learning to debug, or see where things have failed. Yes, debugging
is an art!

* Manuals: One need not read a manual like a novel. It is only meant
for reference, and one can always refer a particular topic or section
within a manual. Examples are man, info pages.

Both HOWTOs and manuals are useful in accomplishing a task, but,
knowing how to use them, as mentioned above, is essential.

SK

-- 
Shakthi Kannan
http://www.shakthimaan.com
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