Re: Template for GNOME man pages.

[Pat Costello <Patrick Costello Sun COM>]

John Fleck ponders: 

> I'm curious what sort of content the man pages will have, how they will differ
> in content from our regular documentation, and what their purpose will be? Is
> it simply an underlying requirement (I believe this is the situation with
> Debian) that every executable have a man page?
> 

Yes, basically, man pages are a requirement for executables, to give a list of 
options, eegees, exceptions, cop-outs, and come-ons. Well, maybe not the latter. 
But in general, the sort of stuff that goes into a man page would be too 
nitty-gritty for standard user documentation. Having said that, wherever 
possible, man pages should be minimized in favor of user documentation, I do 
believe. 

I do not foresee the man pages that the Sun engineers will whip up to be too 
extensive. I will be a reviewer for these man pages. If I spot situations 
occurring where real, genuine user information is being left fallow in a man 
page, then I will take steps to divert the information accordingly to a more 
suitable, and user-visible, home. 

Pat