>>>>>> "BRH" == Bryan R Harris <bryan_r_har...@raytheon.com> writes: > > BRH> Curiously the most helpful people on this list seem to think the > BRH> perldoc system is great, but I've always found it to be rather > BRH> hard to use. If I need to figure out what "$." means, how do I > BRH> even start? I can't type "perldoc '$.'" (well, I can, but it > BRH> doesn't find anything). How would I ever know that "perlvar" is > BRH> the place to go without asking? > > perldoc perl! > > that is a listing of all the perl docs and what they cover. perlvar is > listed there.
My point is that-that's not obvious. Why would anyone perldoc perl? Isn't perldoc already about perl? Granted, just typing perldoc gets you started, but it's at least 3 steps before you start getting close to your answer (1-perldoc, 2-perldoc perl, 3-perldoc perlvar), which is too slow for anybody born after 1975. > also you can google for most perl things and perldocs show > up. perldoc.perl.org also has a search engine. or you can grep the > perldocs in the directory where they are installed. there are many ways > to find out which doc covers a topic or term. That's true, but that's not perldoc, which was the focus of my point. > BRH> Everybody gets pointed back to the perldoc system, and yet when they > have > BRH> more questions, they often still have to come back here to even start. > > and i gave a start, the correct document to read. that is the whole > point - give a fish vs. teach how to fish. as i keep telling people, > learning how to search and use the perldocs IS a skill in its own right > and must be learned. newbies will never learn it unless coerced into > doing so. so direct answers to easy questions that the docs and FAQs > cover should be answered by pointing to the docs. this has been debated > for years and the docs always win out. after reading the docs, then > coming here (or elsewhere) for clarification or more help is fine. Okay, bottom line, it's a skill that's not easy. But why not change perldoc to default to an index search, e.g. "perldoc '$.'" takes you right to the right place in the docs. Easy for me to suggest, I don't have near the skill level to actually do it myself -- but just a suggestion for those who do. - Bryan -- To unsubscribe, e-mail: beginners-unsubscr...@perl.org For additional commands, e-mail: beginners-h...@perl.org http://learn.perl.org/
