Subject: [TAG] 2-cent tip: Life after "man"
From: "Benjamin A. Okopnik" <[email-masked]>
To: The Answer Gang <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 22 Oct 2002 01:38:00 -0400

The Linux documentation subsystem is large, accessible and very
helpful... *if* you know what you're doing. If you don't, Linux looks
like a difficult puzzle - "a maze of twisty passages, all alike". If
you're looking for information on a program, here is a quick way to the
treasure hoard:

# I need to know about everything that deals with TIFF files.
ben@Fenrir:~$ apropos TIFF

# Whoa, man! That was too much stuff! I just want _programs!_
ben@Fenrir:~$ apropos TIFF | grep '(1'

# OK, I know which one I want ("ras2tiff"); how do I tell where it is?
ben@Fenrir:~$ whereis ras2tiff

# I know the name of a program ("foo"), but not what it does. What now?
ben@Fenrir:~$ whatis foo

# But I *HATE* man pages! I want more structure, indexes, etc...
ben@Fenrir:~$ info foo

# Command-line stuff, YUCK. Can I have a pretty GUI?
ben@Fenrir:~$ tkman foo

# I meant for "info"!
ben@Fenrir:~$ tkinfo foo

# "man" tells me that the program ("blarg") is undocumented. Help!
ben@Fenrir:~$ blarg -?
ben@Fenrir:~$ blarg -h
ben@Fenrir:~$ blarg --help
ben@Fenrir:~$ ls /usr/doc/blarg*
ben@Fenrir:~$ ls /usr/share/doc/blarg*
ben@Fenrir:~$ ls /usr/lib/blarg*

# What I *really* want is a Wind*ws help file, with pretty pictures and
# instructions for pressing the "any" key! And I want it to say "Your
# mouse is unplugged - click 'OK' to continue". And, and, I want a big
# juicy burger with onions and lots of cheese and just a little
# ketchup...
ben@Fenrir:~$ export YOU_ARE_REALLY_GETTING_ON_MY_NERVES=1
ben@Fenrir:~$ su -c 'slay -9 annoying_user'
Password:

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Note: several of the programs mentioned above are not installed by
default on most distros. Download, install, and be joyful.

Ben Okopnik
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