Puppy Linux Discussion Forum

8-bit · Joined: 03 Apr 2007 Posts: 3033 Location: Oregon

RANT
Puppy 4.3.1 seems to have a number of man directories each containing information on programs in puppy or installed programs.

One directory is /usr/man.
Another is /usr/share/man.
Another is /usr/local/man.
And yet another created by an installed program is /usr/local/shared/man.

Yet when you open a terminal and type "man [name of program], the local man page is not found and displayed.

Having to hunt down the correct man directory/subdirectory with the name of the installed program,
opening a terminal in that directory, and typing
"nroff -man [complete name of man page]" seems to be a pain.

When you just open a terminal and type man [program name], you see some searching done and the file is not found so a default to the internet for a man page is done.

So are these man pages in the original, not htm, format wasted space?
I tried doing a "man program name from all the man directories using the names given and they just seem to be invisible to the man command.
If you have man pages locally, and they are not used, why even have them?

When I used Puppy 4.2.1, the man command seemed to find local man pages and display them.
What changed?

END OF RANT

vovchik · Joined: 23 Oct 2006 Posts: 1239 Location: Ukraine

Dear 8-bit,

Man needs config info found in /etc/ (either man.conf, manpath.config or man.config - or all three). The important lines in these files point to the dirs in which man pages are stored. Boot 4.21 and do an ls /etc/man*. You will find the necessary files and they should work in 4.3.1. If they already exist, edit the files to reflect the location of your man pages.

With kind regards,
vovchik

8-bit · Joined: 03 Apr 2007 Posts: 3033 Location: Oregon

the man command seems to be ignoring the man.conf file andonly doing a search in /usr/share/doc!
I found the man.conf file on both Puppy 4.21 and Puppy 4.3.1.
It did not even make a difference as to adding a complete path to a man file.
So it looks like the search for a man file seems to be restricted to /usr/share/doc.
But where do I add the parameters/path for man to search.
As I said, man seems to be ignoring it's own configuration file.

If you open ROX and navigate to a man page, note the name of the file.
Then open a terminal and type "man [name of file] without the .8 or .1 whatever be the case.
You will see a search of /usr/share/doc with all the html files being stated as "not a directory"
So it is my opinion that something in where man searches for the man files is broke!

terminal output of existing man page in the path shown in man.conf

# man ufiformat
find: /usr/share/doc/hiawatha.htm/: Not a directory
find: /usr/share/doc/release-4.0.8.htm/: Not a directory
find: /usr/share/doc/release-4.0.9.htm/: Not a directory
find: /usr/share/doc/release-4.1.0.htm/: Not a directory
find: /usr/share/doc/release-4.1.1.htm/: Not a directory
find: /usr/share/doc/release-4.1.2.htm/: Not a directory
find: /usr/share/doc/release-4.3.1.htm/: Not a directory
find: /usr/share/doc/hiawatha.htm/: Not a directory
find: /usr/share/doc/release-4.0.8.htm/: Not a directory
find: /usr/share/doc/release-4.0.9.htm/: Not a directory
find: /usr/share/doc/release-4.1.0.htm/: Not a directory
find: /usr/share/doc/release-4.1.1.htm/: Not a directory
find: /usr/share/doc/release-4.1.2.htm/: Not a directory
find: /usr/share/doc/release-4.3.1.htm/: Not a directory
default
#
That is what I am trying to show. man is not using it's own configuration file to find man pages.

8-bit · Joined: 03 Apr 2007 Posts: 3033 Location: Oregon

I found that the man command in both Puppy 4.3.1 and Puppy 4.2.1 are script files.
The man script file in Puppy 4.2.1 is an older version. But after renaming /usr/bin/man to usr/bin/new_man, and coping the man script from Puppy 4.2.1,
the man command worked correctly.
So why did the script get changed?
Was it to try to support the htm files in /usr/doc?
Both man scripts appear to have been made by Barry K.

alienjeff · Joined: 08 Jul 2006 Posts: 2290 Location: Winsted, CT - USA

8-bit · Joined: 03 Apr 2007 Posts: 3033 Location: Oregon

That is not the answer.
The man script from Puppy 4.2.1 seems to find local man pages and htm files fine.
But it fails at properly finding help for programs and commands that have to bi accessed online from die.net.

On the other hand, the man script from Puppy 4.3.1 does not find local man pages, but it succeeds at finding the info online at die.net.

I am not experienced enough yet to combine both scripts into one that finds local man pages and htm files and also finds and displays online content.

sikpuppy · Joined: 29 Mar 2009 Posts: 433

It would be really nice if the man command actually worked as a command line tool. Having it automagically connect to the internet is very neat, but when I need a man page I am more often than not totally disconnected from the interwebs.

Still, top marks for thinking outside the box.

trapster · Joined: 28 Nov 2005 Posts: 1966 Location: Maine, USA

Which 431 are you using? man works fine on mine.

ttuuxxx · Posted: Sun 22 Nov 2009, 10:45 Post subject:

Here's a small man viewer/editor that I compiled on 2.14X but should work on anything. Smile

ttuuxxx

8-bit · Joined: 03 Apr 2007 Posts: 3033 Location: Oregon

trapster, I am using Puppy 4.3.1 scsi with the 2.6.30.5 kernel.

ttuuxxx, I got man working by renaming /usr/bin/man to usr bin new_man, copying the man script from 4.21 to usr/bin/man, loading both into Geany, and replacing the last line that goes to the die.net website with the command/program parameter with the one in the now renamed new_man script that does a google search of die.net for the command/program.
I still have to incorporate doogle's added contribution in it. but it works for me now.
If you temporarily copied the man script from 4.2.1 over to 4.3.1, and opened both in an editor, you would see what I mean.
For clarification, lets say man from 4.3.1 is called new_man and man from 4.2.1 is called man.

When I open a terminal and type "new_man vala" I am taken to an online vala site.
When I do the same with man, I am shown the puppy included manual for vala.
For a person with dialup internet, the man command finding local man pages is helpful in the fact that he does not have to go online to access a man page that is available locally.

alienjeff · Joined: 08 Jul 2006 Posts: 2290 Location: Winsted, CT - USA

Can anyone say "man page SFS?"

8-bit · Joined: 03 Apr 2007 Posts: 3033 Location: Oregon

I am including both my modified man script from Puppy 421 called "man" and the original man script from Puppy 431 scsi called "new_man".

You can compare both by running them and also by opening each with Geany.
Keep in mind that
new_man is the man script from Puppy 431 scsi
man is my modified script from Puppy 421.

sikpuppy · Joined: 29 Mar 2009 Posts: 433

trapster · Joined: 28 Nov 2005 Posts: 1966 Location: Maine, USA

No gui here.
"man irssi" spits out the info from the file in the ...um...command line.

sikpuppy · Joined: 29 Mar 2009 Posts: 433