RE: Removing the manpage requirement for GUI programs?
I think it is a good idea to have a centralized system where one can find information about a particular program. Otherwise we take the risk of having a sparse information system. If help2man helps to create the man page from the program help, which is the burden then?
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From: Josselin Mouette [joss@debian.org]
Sent: 27 February 2010 20:03
To: debian-devel@lists.debian.org
Subject: Re: Removing the manpage requirement for GUI programs?
Le samedi 27 février 2010 à 19:49 +0000, brian m. carlson a écrit :
> Additionally, in some cases, the --help output is not sufficient to
> explain what a program does. "gcc-4.4 --help" does not list all the
> options; one has to use "gcc-4.4 -v --help". Also, using only the
> latter, please tell me what the "-dM" argument does when passed to
> gcc-4.4.
>
> Although this example is not a GUI program, it is a great example of why
> --help output is often not sufficient.
Indeed it is not sufficient for gcc-4.4. But I still think it is
sufficient for gcalctool.
> In my opinion, your proposed
> change to policy will not result in the elimination of many manpages,
> because in most cases, the programs will be inadequately documented by
> the --help output. --help output is for the case where you already are
> intimately familiar with the program and what it does, and need a quick
> reminder, or for cases when manpages are not available (emergency
> single-user boot).
We are talking of programs that you will not have the idea to run with
the command line unless you know what they do. Programs that are usually
run through a graphical menu.
The current situation is that there are a lot of outdated and/or
inaccurate manpages, while the --help output contains the same amount of
information and is guaranteed to be up-to-date.
--
.''`. Josselin Mouette
: :' :
`. `' “I recommend you to learn English in hope that you in
`- future understand things” -- Jörg Schilling
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