3 ms·

The man pages for bash are fairly comprehensive and I'd definitely recommend referencing them while writing scripts: https://linux.die.net/man/1/bash https://li

The man pages for bash are fairly comprehensive and I'd definitely recommend referencing them while writing scripts: https://linux.die.net/man/1/bash https://linux.die.net/man/1/bash

mishac 8y ago
The full manual is here. https://www.gnu.org/software/bash/manual/bashref.html https://www.gnu.org/software/bash/manual/bashref.html GNU projects tend have info pages that are a lot more complete and thorough then their man pages, so that'd be a good place to check too.
- chrisseaton 8y ago
  > GNU projects tend have info pages that are a lot more complete and thorough then their man pages Why is that? Why don’t they build both from a single source?
  - int_19h 8y ago
    Because they're structured differently. A man page for an app is just that, a page, with some formatting and sections. Texinfo is more like your typical website - lots of small cross-linked pages with a common index. Consequently, a man page is usually an extended take on --help, while info pages are more like product manuals. This is the theory. The practice is that GNU mandates Texinfo for its projects, and because documentation tends to be the weak spot for all open source projects, manpages end up the most neglected as a result, which can be quite annoying. Especially since pretty much nobody else uses Texinfo - man pages are good enough for most console apps, and those that need more detailed documentation use Docbook, Markdown etc.
    - pbhjpbhj 8y ago
      They could easily just serialise the info pages under page headings and have that as an additional manpage.
  - SllX 8y ago
    Historical difference in style and preferences. GNU’s Not UNIX and all that Jazz, so they have different conventions, some of which would not translate to a man page that well. Plus Texinfo is a tool for generating multiple output formats from a single source. Typically (unless this changed at some point) the info pages are the canonical reference for GNU projects and the man pages are to accommodate Unix hackers.[1] [1] https://www.gnu.org/prep/standards/standards.html#Man-Pages https://www.gnu.org/prep/standards/standards.html#Man-Pages

The man pages for bash are fairly comprehensive and I'd definitely recommend referencing them while writing scripts: https://linux.die.net/man/1/bash https://linux.die.net/man/1/bash

mishac 8y ago

The full manual is here. https://www.gnu.org/software/bash/manual/bashref.html https://www.gnu.org/software/bash/manual/bashref.html GNU projects tend have info pages that are a lot more complete and thorough then their man pages, so that'd be a good place to check too.

chrisseaton 8y ago
> GNU projects tend have info pages that are a lot more complete and thorough then their man pages Why is that? Why don’t they build both from a single source?
- int_19h 8y ago
  Because they're structured differently. A man page for an app is just that, a page, with some formatting and sections. Texinfo is more like your typical website - lots of small cross-linked pages with a common index. Consequently, a man page is usually an extended take on --help, while info pages are more like product manuals. This is the theory. The practice is that GNU mandates Texinfo for its projects, and because documentation tends to be the weak spot for all open source projects, manpages end up the most neglected as a result, which can be quite annoying. Especially since pretty much nobody else uses Texinfo - man pages are good enough for most console apps, and those that need more detailed documentation use Docbook, Markdown etc.
  - pbhjpbhj 8y ago
    They could easily just serialise the info pages under page headings and have that as an additional manpage.
- SllX 8y ago
  Historical difference in style and preferences. GNU’s Not UNIX and all that Jazz, so they have different conventions, some of which would not translate to a man page that well. Plus Texinfo is a tool for generating multiple output formats from a single source. Typically (unless this changed at some point) the info pages are the canonical reference for GNU projects and the man pages are to accommodate Unix hackers.[1] [1] https://www.gnu.org/prep/standards/standards.html#Man-Pages https://www.gnu.org/prep/standards/standards.html#Man-Pages