no .info info on info (was Re: dselect fun)

[wes davidson <davidson@ling.ohio-state.edu>]

hi morel.

you wrote:
> Note: I did not read the info page of aptitude.

i think perhaps there does not exist such a document for aptitude. if
i am wrong about this, i would be grateful to learn where it can be
obtained.

i am aware of various manpages and the html documentation for
aptitude, which i do have, and which are fine as far as they go.  but
if (say) the html doc were converted to .info format, i would find it
more convenient to browse.

> I do not like info at all: this is a software which pretends to help
> you, but you have to learn how it works before being able to use it.

when i first read a unix man page twenty years ago, i had a rather
similar reaction. it took me an embarrassingly long time to screw in
the lightbulb and do 'man man'.  (perhaps i am a closet homophobe.)

likewise, it was initially somewhat frustrating to learn how to use
info.  iirc, most of the frustration was due to the absence of
/usr/share/info/info.info (or some analogous file) on the system i
used at the time.  'info info' just brought up a manpage in an
obnoxiously unfamiliar reader.

in other words, on that system, there was no .info info on info!

> And, it's info manual is just useless.

i am not sure which document you refer to, here.  info has a manpage,
which is indeed not terribly helpful to the novice.  it is, after all,
a manpage, and manpages are not intended to be helpful to novices.

but there exists a much more extensive document in .info format
(namely info.info), geared toward the novice user, including a
tutorial that i personally found very helpful.

on a system with this latter document installed, 'info info' renders
it in the info reader.

unfortunately, in debian, afaik until one installs texinfo-doc-nonfree
from the non-free repositories, the files for this self-documentation
don't exist on the system, and 'info info' will merely render info's
manpage unto the unsuspecting newb.

cheers,
wes davidson

ps: please do not mistake my unhealthy interest in the info system for
some kind of pushy advocacy.  i merely seek (perhaps unsuccessfully)
to clarify its accessibility.

-----
     `But the plans were on display...'
     `On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find
     them.'
     `That's the display department.'
     `With a torch.'
     `Ah, well the lights had probably gone.'
     `So had the stairs.'
     `But look you found the notice didn't you?'
     `Yes,' said Arthur, `yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a
     locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the
     door saying BEWARE OF THE LEOPARD.'

On 2013-01-27 in 'dselect fun', berenger.morel@neutralite.org wrote:
> Note: I did not read the info page of aptitude. I do not like info
> at all: this is a software which pretends to help you, but you have
> to learn how it works before being able to use it. And, it's info
> manual is just useless.