Julia EvansFeb 20

when do you usually use the man page for a complex command line tool to answer a question you have? (like git, openssl, rsync, curl, etc)

(edit: no need to say "i use --help then man")

I’d look there first
57.6%
Only after trying other options first
33.2%
Never
6.4%
Other / not sure
2.8%
Poll ended at .
Show threadJulia EvansFeb 20

i'm very curious about everyone who says "I'd look there first", if I want to figure out how to do something new I think I'll usually google how to do it rather than look at the man page, and then maybe later look at the man page to look up the details

(I've gotten enough of these answers:
- "I like that man pages don't require changing context"
- "with the man page I know I have the right version of the docs")

Show threadJulia EvansFeb 20
i think part of the reason I'm feeling interested in man pages right now even though I rarely use them is that search has gotten so much worse, it's frustrating, and it makes it feel more appealing to have trustworthy sources with clear explanations
Show threadJulia EvansFeb 20

also it just occurred to me that the one time I wrote a command line tool (https://rbspy.github.io/) I didn't write a man page for it, I made a documentation website instead. I don't remember even considering writing a man page, probably because I rarely use man pages

(not looking to argue about whether command line tools "should" have man pages or not, just reflecting about how maybe I personally would prefer a good docs website over a man page. Also please no "webpages require internet")

Introduction - rbspy: A Sampling CPU Profiler for Ruby

Show threadcate
@b0rk note: Because Debian requires man pages, I notice that lot of the are written by debian developers, so I assume also a lot of developers don’t use man pages. (note also that writing man pages was very difficult, not just content, but technically: complex non standardized language, various tools, and I still not sure there is a guide on conventions)
Feb 20 at 4:42pmWeb