Re: debian how-to
On Mon, Dec 31, 2007 at 08:13:31AM -0500, drn_temp2@rogers.com wrote:
> From: "Douglas A. Tutty" Sent: Monday, December 31, 2007 7:08 AM
>
> >The docs are always under /usr/share/doc/[package name]
> >apropos
> >which
> >locate
> >find
> >
> As a n00b to Debian (though I've used several distributions over the past
> few years) a lot of these simple things can take quite a while to figure
> out. For those of you who have been intimately involved and continuously
> using Debian it is so obvious but to the rest of us - nope.
That kind of info should be in the debian-reference, debian-policy, fhs,
etc.
>
> Not all the docs are under /usr/share/doc/[package name], some are under
> usr/share/[package name] with no apparent rhyme nor reason. Then,
> everything is gzipped, should the user extract these to their home folder
> or is there a particular method to read these as they stand?
>
If you find docs for a package under /usr/share/[package name] then that
is probably a bug. Personally, I view the docs with mc. When you tell
it to view, it will unpack and display with its internal viewer. If it
is html, I hit enter and I get lynx.
I've never seen a question here on the list about "how do I read the
documentation".
> There are a plethora of packages that popup when you search aptitude or the
> other graphical package manager, which is the most common and easiest to
> use? should we install everything or?
>
Just like doing a library search (or a google search), you can combine
search terms for Aptitude. Search patters are covered in the
aptitude-doc manual.
> Also getting the package managers to work with other mirrors or the non
> free or contrib, how is it done without searching for hours through
> documentation in an often cyclic manner.
>
You can't complain that debian doesn't tell you how to connect to a
non-debian mirror. man sources.list should work for all mirrors.
Contrib and non-free are also examples given in the man page.
> Then there's the installation manual that gives a brief overview of the
> installation but few links to go to for additional resources, help etc
> other than the list. What about using the Rescue modes of the install CD,
> other than a few short paragraphs there's not much help there. I've
> discovered a few it's inherent limitations while fixing the messed up grub
> hd assignments, ended up using a knoppix DVD to do all the fixing and
> reinstalling of GRUB, after searching for a few hours for solutions. The
> grub shell won't run from the rescue mode so many of the helpful items are
> unavailable.
>
The installation manual is huge, not a brief overview. You may have
been looking at an installation summary. The release notes for Etch
were quite a stack when I printed them out.
> As was stated many other disto's have these n00b pages for a quick
> reference to get us up to speed so that we can start figuring out how to do
> things on our own. Many n00bs are reticient to post to lists or forums as
> they often receive negative feed back from some of the more seasoned users
> who feel like they are answering the same questions time and again.
>
debian-reference, aptitude-doc, man pages, installation manual (the
whole thing), online wiki, google the archives, and then ask on the
list.
> I've yet to find anything on somehow efficiently searching archives for
> fixes to problems that may have already been solved. Sometimes it's just a
> matter of using the proper key words.
>
google. site:lists.debian.org [topic] [topic]...
> Anyways, my diatribe has gone on long enough, sorry. I'm just trying to
> elaborate on the need here, not asking for assistance ... yet. :)
> Dave
Doug.
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