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Message-ID: <3C473531.7020905@ece.gatech.edu>
Date: Thu, 17 Jan 2002 15:33:53 -0500
From: Charles Wilson <cwilson AT ece DOT gatech DOT edu>
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To: Joshua Franklin <joshuadfranklin AT yahoo DOT com>
CC: cygwin AT cygwin DOT com
Subject: Re: "RTFM'ing": readily accessible user documentation?
References: <20020117190003 DOT 69826 DOT qmail AT web20009 DOT mail DOT yahoo DOT com>
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Joshua Franklin wrote:

>>OK, I learned a few valuable lessons in the
>>couple of days last month it took me to
>>clue into install-info ("dir is a file?"), and
>>maybe this is more of a "pons asinorum" than
>>an "Instructions for opening are on the inside"
>>situation.
>>
>>That being said, I really would have appreciated
>>a hint about where the documentation lives and
>>how to get at it.
>>
>>Thanks, John
>>
>>
> 
> I don't think this is really a documentation issue.
> The real problem in this case is that some package
> is messed up (some package is installing its own
> 'dir' file, overwriting the old one, instead of
> installing the info files in a script). 
> You can just look at the package lists in
> /etc/setup/ and figure out that the offending package
> seems to be...
> 
> $ grep info/dir *
> tetex-beta.lst:usr/info/dir
> 
> tetex-beta!
> This package needs to be fixed to do the right thing.
> And, I believe, a new tetex package is in the works.


Well, yeah -- another problem is the other packages that copy info files 
into /usr/info but *don't* have a postinstall script to add them to 
/usr/info/dir.  But, that will be fixed in time, as packages are updated.

One thing that worries me is the appearance of a *new* misbehaving 
package -- it's all well and good to say "be careful, maintainers" but 
mistakes DO happen.  THIS mistake can affect all other packages' 
info-installations; it's more serious that "new wget package overwrites 
/etc/wgetrc" -- which only affects wget.

</cringe>
Should setup.exe *refuse* to install a file called "/usr/info/dir" -- 
just to keep us safe?  Or is that setting a bad precedent?  [Or maybe 
upset can "lint" the packages on sourceware, and refuse to add 
foo-1.2.tar.gz to setup.ini if it contains a proscribed file like 
/usr/info/dir]

--Chuck


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