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Date: Sun, 11 May 2008 14:13:08 -0400
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Subject: Re: I'd like to add and mantain a new pacakge: nix
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 >>   * It would be quite helpful, if there was a "NIX Intro" 'man' page
 >>    that gave the function of the package that I could only find
 >>    described in the Cygport file.
 >
 >
 >  "(package manager allowing) multiple versions of a package to
 > be installed side-by-side,
 > ensures that dependency specifications are complete, supports atomic
 > upgrades and rollbacks .."
 > Does it sound more descriptive after adding those words within () ?

Is it a run-time environment package manager? As opposed to a
source code package manager? Shouldn't that be pointed out? Or,
don't I understand the terminology?


 >>     page would also point out
 >>    the components of the package much the same way that 'man perl'
 >>    does, but on the relatively smaller scale of 'nix'.

 > Are you missing a small doc containing:
 >         nix
 >         ----------------
 >         <short description, eg first paragraph from 
http://nixos.org/about.html>

Was this a man page? Or, what? Name of the file?

If I'm missing it, it must be missing from your .tar.gz?

Web page references are very nice, but largely inacessible from
'man' 'apropos'. Also note that while 'info' has an "apropos"
option it doesn't focus on the function of the command or library
the way that man's does.

('info's apropos is more akin to 'man -k'.)

 >
 >
 >         list of binaries:
 >                 nix-env : manages your local installation environments
 >                 nix-collect-garbage : removes all files from store no 
longer referenced
 >                                  by any registered installation
 >                 nix-build: tool to build derivations
 >                 nix-instantiate: ...
 >
 >>   * It would also be helpful, if the '.TH' description for each
 >>    man page was more functionally descriptive.

Clearly, I referenced the wrong nroff/troff/groff macro. It should
have been ".SH" as you suggested.

 > eg the vim.1.gz man file contains:
 >         .TH VIM 1 "2006 Apr 11"
 >         .SH NAME
 >         vim \- Vi IMproved, a programmers text editor
 > Both apropos and whatis shows the line after .SH NAME here.
 > This it's fine in my opinion.

Vim's line is fine, IMHO. Your lines, however, are not, because
they are all self-referential to Nix, rather than Nix' function.
If you add the nix.1 man page, then the problem is solved,
Because if you find that with 'apropos package', then that page
will get you to the other stuff.

 >>   * I believe that such changes would make your package more
 >>    accessible, and therefore more popular, but, as I've already
 >>    said, I'm unqualified to judge.

 > Mmh :) The poeple installing this package will know why they install
 > it.. at least at the moment I think.

If you don't already live in New England, you might want to
consider moving there. That's pretty much their atitude about
street and road signs. Having grown up in a city laid out in a
perfect Cartesianal grid, I find it off-putting.

But remember, these are the same folks that "ceded" the IT
industry to Silicon Valley. ;-)

 > I enjoy info bash much more than man bash..
 > and i prefer info screen over man screen

If you provide info pages with man pages, I think that's fine,
but I think the motives for 'info' have been more than satisfied
by hypertext; but, the man pages still form, IMHO, a mimimum
documentation set for knowlegable GNU users who are looking for
something and experimenting.

 >>  Were you intending your package manager to be used for
 >>  maintaining parallel Cygwin 1.5/1.7 configurations?

 > I'd like to introduce you to my intensions:
...

Might it work for the Cywin 1.5/1.7 configs?

 > The documentation doesn't build yet on windows. It can be found online
 > at nixos.org anyway. Do you think adding a link to nixos.org is enough
 > to enable people beeing interested finding the docs they are looking
 > for?

That's a good idea, IMHO; put it in the body of the nix.1 man
page in the way that I suggest above, that you will soon write,
once you see the *one true path*, i.e. /usr/share/man! ;-)


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