+1.
I notice that there is a drive by some project teams (ksh93 stands out)
to encode entire manual pages into the command. While I certainly can
appreciate the desire to have help content located next to the command,
it does seem to me that the inconsistent methods to access such help
will ultimately only serve to increase confusion (never mind the
problems with synchronizing the efforts of doc writers, l10n, etc. that
such practices incur.)
An example of why multiple online help systems are a bad idea, IMO, is
the info utility. Having to look in one place for some unix commands,
and in other for others, greatly decreases the usability of the system.
(This is probably true for projects that only ship HTML as well.)
-- Garrett
James Carlson wrote:
> Anurag S. Maskey writes:
>
>> When the options to the subcommand is wrong, the subcommand specific
>> usage and help text (similar to what's in dladm(1m) will be printed. A
>> new command_help_text(int cmd_num) will return a short text description
>> from dladm(1m) for that subcommand.
>>
>
> I think that's actually the wrong direction to go. As meem wrote in
> the description for that CR:
>
> I think providing the full help output would be disorienting and
> ultimately less helpful than the current message -- but I agree
> that a subcommand-specific message would be very nice.
>
> I have reservations about encoding the man page text into the command
> output, as you seem to be suggesting here. Will we do this for all
> commands? If we do it for just "some" commands, won't the commands
> that lack this man-page-like output eventually be reported as bugs in
> the system?
>
> Should we have a blanket Solaris-wide policy that commands generally
> be able to invoke /usr/bin/man on input error? If not, won't the
> system just become harder to use, with some commands working one way
> and others working another? Why can't users who need help type "man"
> anyway?
>
> I'd much rather see a single-line synopsis on error in a subcommand,
> and a very short list of subcommands if presented with an unknown
> subcommand (compressed to one or a few lines would be nicer). If the
> user needs anything more than a terse reminder, then he ought to be
> reading the man page. That's what it's for.
>
>
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