Idea #7361: provide man page with examples

Written by sivaji the 21 Apr 08 at 16:59. Category: System.
Related to: Nothing/Others. Status: New

Description

i think its better to provide man page with examples rather than just giving a syntax of the commands , to make the newbies more comfortable

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Eldmannen wrote on the 21 Apr 08 at 19:26

Yes, often with programming functions, it can be a bit difficult to figure out how to exactly use them.

printf("Hello world");

noodlesgc wrote on the 21 Apr 08 at 20:15

This is not upto ubuntu developers, usually, the application developers write their man pages.

Warbo wrote on the 21 Apr 08 at 21:04

Debian makes sure to include at least a brief manpage with every package even if it means writing one, and Ubuntu development is closely tied to Debian. Adding examples to the criteria is entirely doable.

sparky11 wrote on the 21 Apr 08 at 21:19

Ubuntu should also try to make everything be able to be done with a GUI

gewgaw wrote on the 22 Apr 08 at 07:13

Look, duplicating work is bothersome, but if you want to take UBUNTU to the masses, a more "friendly" man page or help files may just do the trick. Linux is seen as an "unfriendly" & difficult O/S because people 'just dont know' how to do what they want to. When I started learning, the man pages could just as well not have been there, they provided about 1% help. So I'd definitly vote for the idea.

holizz wrote on the 22 Apr 08 at 09:15

Yes, I wish more developers would add examples. I don't think it's Ubuntu developers' jobs to be rewriting every manpage, but it should be something included with manpages written by Ubuntu.

sparky11: You _can_ do everything with a GUI. It's called gnome-terminal.

sivaji wrote on the 22 Apr 08 at 13:00

i think any volunteers who are familiar with application can rewrite the man page with examples and they send that to concern author given at the end of man page

linuxjuicer wrote on the 28 Sep 08 at 21:59

Solution: a GUI for making and editing man pages. It would be small and easy to write. if anyone wants this and can help write it drop me an e-mail at linuxjuicer@gmail.com

cheesehead wrote on the 29 Sep 08 at 00:17

The best way to get a change implemented is to put it in terms the developers can easily plug in to.

Check the upstream web site and see who handles their documentation. Send them an e-mail with your preferred solution and see if they show interest. If they do, your problem is solved. If they want a bug report to track, then file one (and give them a patch, too - make it really easy)

(If you've never done a patch, it's really easy - though fraught with peril. See 'Generating a patch' at https://wiki.ubuntu.com/Bugs/HowToFix )

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