On Fri, 2007-11-02 at 15:10 -0600, Aaron Konstam wrote: > On Fri, 2007-11-02 at 09:00 -0400, Robert Locke wrote: > > On Fri, 2007-11-02 at 11:02 +0000, Chris G wrote: > > <snip> > > > Adding the (rpm) entries means that the whatis database is no longer a > > > "set of database files containing short descriptions of system > > > commands" because the things it puts in there are *not* system > > > commands. > > > > Never has been. Only the things in "chapter 1" are really "system > > commands". The whatis database was initially a summary of the > > description lines of each of the man pages, but that has included > > commands, files, library functions, etc. Looking at the chapter told > > you what it was. But now there are things on the system that have no > > traditional man page, but might be what you are looking for. So some > > folks hacked in the (rpm) chapter so that we at least no about the > > existence of those facilities when we "search our system" even though > > they do not have a traditional man page.... > > > > I think it's a neat idea.... > > > > --Rob > > > Well there are two problems. > 1. chapter 8 also has system commands.. Chapter 1 is supposed to be "user commands". Chapter 8 is supposed to be "maintenance commands" (used to be chapter 1m). Chapter 2 is "system calls", chapter 3 is "library calls", chapter 4 are "devices", chapter 5 are "file formats", chapter 6 was rarely used, chapter 7 is "configuration files". Lots of stuff got changed since the original layout was proposed back in the old System 3 days. > 2. Something has ruined this process so that now all I get from man -k > or apropos is (rpm) files. It must have been an update of some sort. Any > ideas out there? For example system-config-printer shows up as a (rpm) > file. There was never a man page for that program. It's a python script for the most part and being a GUI-based program, it's _supposed_ to be self-explanatory. Uh, huh. :-/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------- - Rick Stevens, Principal Engineer rstevens@xxxxxxxxxxxx - - CDN Systems, Internap, Inc. http://www.internap.com - - - - Do you know how to save five drowning lawyers? No? GOOD! - ----------------------------------------------------------------------
