Man pages and info pages

[Teemu Likonen]

* 2010-11-02 19:36 (UTC), Tim Harig wrote:

> On 2010-11-02, Teemu Likonen <tlikonen at iki.fi> wrote:
>> There is also the problem that people are less familiar with info
>> browsers than the usual "less" pager which is used by "man" command.
>
> I thoroughly agree. The default info viewers are quite possibly the
> most counterintuitive programs I have ever encountered. I never did
> bother to learn how to use them. I instead installed the more
> intuitive pinfo program.

It seems that we only agree on the part that I explicitly wrote about:
people are less familiar with info browsers than "less" pager. I didn't
mean to imply any reasons why this might be the case. I think "info"
browser is intuitive and easy to use. The basic commands:

    Enter   Follow a link (down to node)
    u       up node level
    h       help (general how-to)
    ?       help (commands)
    s       search

    Arrow keys, page up, page down keys work as usual.

What's counter-intuitive in it?

>> With the text terminal info browser called "info" as well as Emacs'
>> info browser you can use command "s" (stands for "search"). It
>> prompts for a regexp pattern to search in the whole document,
>> including subsections etc.
>
> Right, pinfo offers this as well; but, then you have to figure out
> where in the nodes that the search has taken you and how to navigate
> from that node to find additional information that you may need.

I usually return to the top node with "t" command or go one or more
levels up in the tree with "u" command. The first line in the window
tells where I am.