On Tue, Jun 11, 2013 at 11:23 AM, Karol Blazewicz <[email protected]> wrote: > I've noticed some commands provided by the pacman package have help > messages that could be improved. Is it something that already is on > some todo list? > What kind of suggestions are welcome and which ones draw ire of the > developers? Anyone cares about colons, dashes and capital letters? > There is a significant variability in style, in which the '-h' output > is presented and I'd appreciate standardizing this. > > > I think '$command_name -h' should provide s brief description of what > the command does and methods of use. At least in some cases an example > is very helpful. > > For example, compare > > $ pacsort -h > pacsort v4.1.1 > Usage: pacsort [options] [files...] > > <options listed here> > > to > > $ makepkg -h > makepkg (pacman) 4.1.1 > > Usage: /usr/bin/makepkg [options] > > Options: > <listed here> > > Hey, '$command_name ($package_name) $package_version' is a neat idea, > I like it much more than '$command_name v$package_version' style of > pacsort. > But ... what does makepkg do? I think it should explicitly say this. > It's a text file, so let's see what's inside: > > $ head -3 /usr/bin/makepkg > #!/usr/bin/bash > # > # makepkg - make packages compatible for use with pacman > > OK, I think I get it. > pacsort is a binary, so what it does remains a secret ;P > > What about the empty line between the command name and 'Usage' line? > Can we decide whether to add it to other pacman utilities' -h' output > or remove it from the ones that have it now? Is writing 'Options:' > necessary or can we just list them? > > Some more examples can be found in the thread I opened on the forum: > https://bbs.archlinux.org/viewtopic.php?id=164943 > > > I don't know if there's any interest among the developers in making > the -h' output (and later the man pages) better and if the ideas I > presented above do make it better in the eyes of those who matter or > it just nitpicking and fluff. > > If you prefer less chatty and more formal style of writing, please tell me. >
Some standardization in this area would be nice. If the developers approve of changing this, I'm willing to send in some patches to address these issues. Jason
