Re: Debian glossary?
On Mon 30 Apr 2018 at 09:27:02 -0500, Richard Owlett wrote:
> On 04/30/2018 08:20 AM, Brian wrote:
> > On Mon 30 Apr 2018 at 06:46:01 -0500, Richard Owlett wrote:
> >
> > > Debian documentation NOT written for hoi polloi.
> >
> > Strong words.
>
> BUT true!
No they are not. Valid, perhaps.
> >
> > [...]
> > > Output of "ls -Rdl /media/richard/rco1" is
> > > "drwxr-xr-x 3 root root 4096 Apr 28 23:49 /media/richard/rco1".
> > >
> > > { In "drwxr-xr-x 3", what do "d" and "3" tell me? }
> >
> > At the end of ls(1) it says:
> >
> > Full documentation at: <http://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/ls>
> > or available locally via: info '(coreutils) ls invocation'
>
> You have identified a documentation bug!
No, I haven't. You may think *you* have, but you haven't.
> The relevant line of the HTML of
> https://manpages.debian.org/stretch/coreutils/ls.1.en.html is
>
> </a></h1>
> GNU coreutils online help: <<a href="http://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/";>http://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/</a>
>
> and www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/ gives no navigational guidance.
>
> Drilling down to
> https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/html_node/What-information-is-listed.html#What-information-is-listed
> does indeed identify "d".
>
> >
> > I think "Full" would imply more detail than in the manual. I'd use
> > 'pinfo ls' for something more friendly than info.
>
> Hadn't heard of pinfo and it wasn't installed. Looks interesting.
> Will read man page online later.
>
> >
> > > https://manpages.debian.org/stretch/mount/mount.8.en.html says in part:
> > > /begin quote
> > > strictatime
> > > Allows to explicitly request full atime updates. This makes it possible
> > > for the kernel to default to relatime or noatime but still allow userspace
> > > to override it. For more details about the default system mount options see
> > > /proc/mounts.
> > > /end quote
> > >
> > > { Having used a file manager to look at /proc/mounts without comprehension,
> > > I interpreted the context of "/proc/mounts" to indicate that there would be
> > > a reference to it elsewhere in https://manpages.debian.org . Nope. }
> >
> > 'cat /proc/mounts' doesn't necessarily improve your comprehension but it
> > is probably quicker. For a reference, you want proc(5);
>
> You have identified ANOTHER bug. "/proc/mounts" should read "proc(5)".
No, I haven't. And, no, it shouldn't.
> > that takes you to fstab(5).
> >
> > > https://manpages.debian.org/stretch/mount/mount.8.en.html makes several
> > > references to "block special device".
> > > { "block special device" ??? }
> >
> > I thought that was well explained.
>
> I admit the author would claim so. But it left me head scratching.
>
> > What does the internet say about it?
>
> Various pages say various things while raising more questions clouding the
> issue.
>
> >
> > > Man pages by their nature/purpose assume a certain level of expertise.
> > > They can be daunting for the uninitiated.
> >
> > Not a novel observation - but you are not uninitiated or a newcomer. Then
> > there is always a search engine at hand or the ever-helpful debian-user. >
>
> <ROFL> Unwarranted assumption implied by "but you are not uninitiated or a
> newcomer".
>
> As to computers generally - true.
>
> As an E.E. student in the 60's took "Introduction to Computers" followed by
> a semester of FORTRAN. In the 70's I did work for DEC. *BUT* I was in "Power
> Supply Engineering". My name (or at least my initials) appear on some H720-E
> documentation.
>
> BUT, until abandoning WinXP for Squeeze I was only a USER without any OS
> background. Since then I've been self-taught, there not even being a local
> LUG.
You had access to computers when you were young? How fortunate! All we
had was a second-hand abacus with a bead missing and a manual written in
the Chinese language. Try dividing £112/13s/7d by £2/7s/11d with that.
--
Brian
Reply to: