Re: no .info info on info (was Re: dselect fun)
I was speaking about the integrated aptitude help page, which is
using exactly same interface as info.
ah, now i understand.
at least, i think i do. i'm assuming by "exactly the same interface"
you mean they both take input from and provide output to a terminal?
since that describes practically every tool i use, you had me confused
for a second. (perhaps i still am?)
Since it uses the same interfaces, my mind merged those informations
without asking me! It should ask... :P
you must have clicked the "do not show this message again" box.
This interface is accessible when you run aptitude in ncurse mode,
then, I think you'll find your way.
i will try to remember your optimism when the time comes.
The common problem with man, is when things come to non CLI
interface: for ncurses and X GUI, man does not sounds really
efficient.
ah, i see. aptitude is primarily an interactive tool, so its primary
documentation can be internal to the application, and accessed while
you are interacting with it. interesting point. i get it now.
Man was never something hard for me. I think it is because I
discovered less and immediately fall in love with that tool (I
previously only known the more tool from DOS, it explains my love I
think).
they do say that less provides more functionality. ;)
unfortunately, in debian, afaik until one installs
texinfo-doc-nonfree
Oh, I'll check it out. Having doc for info could potentially help me
a lot!
cool. three more things. well, four:
1. there exists a --vi-keys command line option for info that
advertises itself as being more like less and vi. i'm not a vi user,
so i don't use it. but when you are using this option, `H' provides a
listing of the appropriate key bindings.
2. to run info run within emacs: `ESC x info'.
3. i haven't tried pinfo, mentioned by another poster. (thanks,
brian.) the package description mentions that it has lynx-like key
bindings.
4. as long as i'm spamming the list, there's a description of a dozen
basic info commands below.
cheers,
wes
===================
basic info commands
===================
there are other commands, many of them useful, but the six pairs below
are good to understand.
1 nodes=pages: an ontological conundrum
=======================================
technological breakthroughs of the previous century now permit the
publication of documents whose pages are not of uniform length.
therefore, we need new words. (wait, what?)
in an info document, a node is a page that covers a given topic.
(because documents are trees, and a tree is an arrangement of things
called nodes.)
let's move on.
2 forwards and backwards
========================
`]' and `[' page through a document's nodes like the pages of a
book---one node after the other, in the sequence they'd show up if
each node were a page in a book. `]' looks forward and `[' looks back.
since sometimes all the text in a node doesn't fit into one screenful,
there are also SPACE and BACKSPACE (or perhaps DEL instead). SPACE
moves forward. the other one goes the other way.
if an ascii-art flip book were set in info format, then holding down
`]' would be "play", and releasing it would be "pause".
but if it were a pornographic ascii-art flip book and the interesting
parts didn't show up on the first screenful of a node, then in order
to pollute your innocence you'd have to SPACE through them. if you
accidentally spaced past the best frame, you might use BACKSPACE to go
back to it.
3 documents are trees
=====================
the information in a piece of documentation is structured by its
generality (some topics are subtopics of others). by convention, up
is general, down is specific.
also, when a given topic requires the discussion of several distinct
subtopics of equivalent generality, they are arranged in a
particular sequence. (Q: why? A: excellent question.)
so, count them: *two* dimensions. whoa.
3.1 down and up: dimension one
==============================
anyways, `m' (menu) moves down into more specific topics, and `u' (up)
moves back up into more general ones.
to go down into a subtopic with `m', you'll need to specify which one.
start typing its name, and hit TAB when you get sick of typing. tab
completion works. (if you change your mind about the whole menu
thing, do control-g to cancel. depending on how much there is to
cancel, you might need to hit it twice.)
3.2 next and previous: the next dimension
=========================================
also, when you're looking at a subtopic (`balloons', let's say) of
some topic (maybe `loud things'), then `n' (next) moves on to the next
loud thing (perhaps `fire engines'). `p' (previous) will go back to
the previous loud thing (probably `barking dogs', in this case).
nb: if your current subtopic (let's stick with `balloons') has
subtopics of its own (`inflation', `static electricity', etc) and you
hit `n', you will not see them. why? because `n' at `balloons' takes
you to `fire engines'. if you *do* want to churn through all the
material under `balloons', you should use `]' or SPACE instead.
4 cross references
==================
there are times when it is helpful to jump out of this structure, and
refer to a topic that is covered in a non-adjacent part of the
document tree or perhaps in some completely different document. when
there are cross references in the node you're looking at, hitting `f'
(follow) will follow them. tab completion and typing names will get
you through.
suppose you do this. now your navigational fu has transcended the
two-dimensional tree-structure of the document by jumping to the
cross-referenced node (and you might even have landed in another
tree). so how do you get back? hit `l' (last) to go back to the last
node you were viewing.
you can always use `l', unless you're back at the original node you
opened with info. but `f' you can only use if there are
cross references in the node you are at.
5 two (or three) more
=====================
`?' brings up a list of key bindings. `x' makes it go away.
also, control-g means cancel. this can be helpful to know if your
cursor is stuck in the minibuffer (the line at the bottom of the
screen where partial commands are displayed) and you are confused
about what's going on. depending on how much there is to cancel, you
may need to hit it a few times. type gently.
the end.
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