<quote who="David">
> BTW... if you think this is not relevant to linux, you've been an expert
> for too long ;-) Try being part time, and having to figure things out.
It's relevant, but man pages were designed as references, not full
documentation. They're like cheat sheets - 20 pound cheat sheets don't
really let you cheat very easily. :-)
> Surely linux isn't just for the professional?
It's not a Linux-only thing; man pages are like this across the board. (That
said, some distributions and OSes have better man pages than others.) Given
that *nix *has* had a professional audience for most of its life, it's not
surprising that it comes across that way when using Linux on the desktop.
When I read man pages, I expect to see concise cheat sheets. If I want
documentation, I can use info (as much as I dislike it), or whatever format
the developers have provided it in.
When you're using a modern, desktop-oriented *nix (think Mac OS X), how
often do you read man pages? Never? I sure hope so. :-)
- Jeff
--
Ye shall be cursed to fall in love so easily, and yet be so cold of
heart as never to express it.
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