From: ewtroan@ewt.raleigh.ibm.com (Erik Troan) Subject: Re: Let's Try To Make It Easy!! Date: Fri, 7 May 1993 11:49:06 GMT
In article <1sc2r3$fgf@fitz.TC.Cornell.EDU>, mdw@theory.TC.Cornell.EDU
(Matt Welsh) writes:
|> >An example might be (in regard to the recent "my elm domain is wrong"
|> >series of posts... boy, did I get lots of "Same here" mail!):
|>
|> >Step 121: Create a file in the /usr/local/elm directory called
|> >"domain". Place in this file your domain name (for jfrost's system at
|> >odaiko.cts.com, this would include the line "cts.com").
|> >
|>
|> It's been done. :)
|>
|> It's called the Linux Documentation Project: Michael K. Johnson and I help
|> to "coordinate" it (inasmuch as such a beast can be coordinated). Now, we're
|> writing books about Linux--- specifically for new UNIX and Linux users.
|> You said that there weren't many books about Linux from the SysAdmin's point
|> of view. The LDP manuals are targeted for the Linux audience: i.e. the joint
|> system admin/user... a "personal UNIX system", as it were.
I'd be surprised (and more then a little disappointed) if the LDP covers
the question and answer stuff for the range of packages that jfrost is
talking about. Such a database is going to change rapidly, and I think
would be much better suited to an electronic searchable format, rather
then TeX [which is meant to be printed and looked at, no matter how nice
xdvi is :-) ].
If the LDP tries to answer all of the stupid little questions that a
new user might have (remember, many [most?] new linux users are experiencing
their first Unix system, Unix administration, and and kind of system
administration all al the same time). I REALLY don't want to print a new
book every time I need to answer a different question. This isn't to say
that there won't be any overlap. There should be alot, and it may be a
good idea if the LDP adopted the effort as one of its projects.
|> There's a large problem with your approach: things are never as simple as
|> a "step-by-step" list of "instructions". What is needed is more of a
|> comprehensive understanding of concepts, and how to configure a given piece
|> of software. Step-by-step listings are not always appropriate.
Step-by-step listings are normally not appropriate. But I think the
"glorified FAQ" that you mentioned is a good idea. I still (after
9 months) get answers from the regular FAQ [I finally learned how to
reset by terminal when it decided that high ASCII characters are more
interesting then the mundane lower ones]. Another problem/solution list
would undoubtedly help.
|> We have a number of books being written:
|> * Linux Installation, Setup, and Getting Started
|> * Linux User's Guide
|> * Linux System Administrator's Guide
|> * Linux Networking Guide
|> * Kernel Hacker's Guide
Which one gets the entry "What to do when SWI Prolog stops bootstraping
correctly after taring the whole system, changing filesystems, and untarring
it?". I don't see where it fits, but its still a really good question
(anybody have a solution btw - I remade the whole %$@& thing). Like I
said I think there will be a good amount of overlap, but I think the two
projects would have very different goals.
|> mdw
Erik
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
When I was in school, I cheated on my metaphysics exam: I looked into
the soul of the boy sitting next to me. -- Woody Allen
Erik Troan = ewt@sunsite.unc.edu, ewtroan@vnet.ibm.com