1.2 Help Flashcards
What are the primary utilities used to get help in Linux?
- man
- info
What are the different man page sections and what do they contain?
- Commands that can be used by anyone
- System functions
- Library functions
- Special files found in the /dev directory
- File formats and conventions
- Games
- Miscellaneous conventions
- Administrative utilities that can be used only by the root user
- Kernel documentation
Which man page section contains help for commands that can be used by anyone?
Section 1
Which man page section contains help for system functions?
Section 2
Which man page section contains help for library functions?
Section 3
Which man page section contains help for special files found in the /dev files?
Section 4
Which man page section contains help for file formats and conventions?
Section 5
Which man page section contains help for games?
Section 6
Which man page section contains help for miscellaneous conventions?
Section 7
Which man page section contains administrative utilities that can be used only by the root user?
Section 8
Which man page section contains kernel documentation?
Section 9
Which environment variable contains the list of paths that are serched to find man pages?
MANPATH
How do RedHat and derivatives (CentOS, Fedora) configure the paths that are searched to find man pages?
RedHat and derivatives use the MANPATH directive in the /etc/man.config file to configure paths that will be searched for man pages.
What sections does a man page contain?
- TITLE - Title of the man page - what will be discussed
- NAME - Name of command, file, or utility, plus an short abstract on what it does
- SYNOPSIS - Brief description of the syntax used for the command or formatting for a file
- DESCRIPTION - Detailed description on how the command, file, or utility works along with details about each option
- OPTIONS - Details about each option, if not included in DESCRIPTION
- AUTHOR - Programmer who wrote the command, utility, or service
- REPORTING BUGS - Address or contact information for reporting bugs
- COPYRIGHT - Who owns the copyright
- SEE ALSO - Commands and utilities related to this one
- VERSION - Version and revision date of the command, utility, or service
What is the difference between the man utility and the info utility, aside from the way they are navigated?
- The info utility usually provides more information than the man page.
- The help provided by info is more conversational and instructional; it teaches how to use the command.
- The man page is one long page, whereas info breaks up information into nodes.
What types of files are stored in the /usr/share/doc directory?
The /usr/share/doc directory contains documentation about various packages, commands, utilities, etc.
How do you search within a man page?
Use the forward-slash (/) key, followed by the term you are searching for.
What is the command syntax to view a man page?
man command
What is a man page?
A manual (man) page is text-based help file for a specific command stored on the computer.
What does the man command do?
A man page shows the command’s syntax, options, and related files and commands using the default paging program.
Where are man pages stored?
Man pages are stored under the /usr/man or /usr/share/man directory. Subdirectories store man pages for different types of commands or languages.
How do you specify a different or additional location for man pages.
The MANPATH environment variable can be altered to specify a different location for man pages.
Where do some distributions set the MANPATH variable?
Some distributions set the MANPATH variable using the /etc/man.config script, with corresponding scripts in each user’s home directory to allow variation for individual users.
How do you exit a man page?
Press Q to exit the man page.
