On 01/15/2012 01:41 PM, Joerg Schilling wrote: > Mark Krenz <[email protected]> wrote: > >> On Sat, Jan 14, 2012 at 09:35:29AM GMT, Sergey Poznyakoff [[email protected]] >> said the following: >>> >>> No, and there are no plans of doing so either. Tar is fully documented >>> in texinfo format. The manual is included in the distribution. Apart >>> from that, it is available online in various formats at >>> http://www.gnu.org/software/tar/manual. Given all that, I see no reason >>> in any additional man pages. >>> >> >> You make it sound like man pages are going away. > > This is a false claim from Richard Stallman..... > > The POSIX standard defines man pages and for this reason, man pages have the > first priority for documentation. Whether or not there is additional > documentation is another (less important) aspect. > > And BTW: the fact that the man system offers a better user interface > Not better: rather, simpler. But I agree that, if one wants to give a quick look to the generalities or basic examples, or double-check the meaning of an option, then simpler is better. That's why many other GNU projects also offer a minimal manpage (with the explicit proviso that the "real", complete documentation is in the info manual).
> seems to be the reason why people are requesting man pages. > > Wouldn't it be apropriate after more than 20 years, that the attempt to > introduce a different documentation system by GNU failed > Wait, while you (and I, in fact), might not like the info format nor the info reader, you should keep in mind that the *.texi input from which the info pages are generated can also (and usually is) be converted to HTML and PDF output of good quality. And personally, I find the Texinfo markup language quite elegant, clear, and easy to use. > and to switch to the standard? > > Jörg > Regards, Stefano
