Hello,
When I try to use `info blah' on my Cygwin system I get the error
info: dir: No such file or directory
Yes, this in in the FAQ (however, alternatively, not findable by any of 5
permutations of searches I ran on the List archives, just as an aside):
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
info error "dir: No such file or directory"
Cygwin packages install their info documentation in the /usr/info
directory. But you need to create a dir file there before the standalone
info program (probably /usr/bin/info) can be used to read those info files.
This is how you do it:
bash$ cd /usr/info
bash$ for f in *.info ; do install-info $f dir ; done
This may generate warnings:
install-info: warning: no info dir entry in `gzip.info'
install-info: warning: no info dir entry in `time.info'
The install-info command cannot parse these files, so you will have to add
their entries to /usr/info/dir by hand.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is apparently the feeling on this cygwin List that one of the first
things a new user should do is check the documentation ("RTFM") that comes
with the Cygwin installation ('should do' long before they consider posting
a question to the List). Documentation that is installed on the local
machine the user is using (especially if they are a dial-up user) is
preferable to on-line documention for reasons of speed of access (or not
having to use a phone line, or not having one available). Seem reasonable?
No? Well I am sure anyone can argue about anything.
IMHO, "info" *should get set up automatically when Cygwin is installed.*
Placing a bunch of files into a directory then just leaving them inert and
useless seems half-assed to me, to be candid, given the recently over-
discussed noise level issue here (myself being the one who is doggedly
flogging it to death). Anyhow, that arcane invocation given in the FAQ
(arcane to someone just learning `bash' or shell scripting in general,
probably), represents setting the bar TOO HIGH on new user ease-of-access
to that important information in the preferred Gnu format ("info" as
opposed to "man").
This is all stated *given willingness to acknowledge _human_ _nature_* of
course. Only from that perspective do I consider these my observations to
be obviously salient. From the perspective of expert users and those who
have known Gnu software for years (and probably created some of it),
looking at the matter without being able to "get into the head" of the
novice user impatient to begin using Cygwin, it will sound like silly
purile carping. Such a person can say so -- fine -- but will get no
sympathy from me next time they complain that "the same questions keep
getting asked over and over again...".
The FSF info source code package for "texinfo" contains a README file which
contains this small notice:
* The Info tree uses a file `dir' as its root node; the `dir-example'
file in this distribution is included as a possible starting point.
Use it, modify it, or ignore it just as you like.
(ftp://tug.ctan.org/tex-archive/macros/texinfo/texinfo/README)
That source package also contains this script file (as it turns out, once
one opens it and reads it, it's a shell script -- but how would a newbie
automatically know this???):
ftp://tug.ctan.org/tex-archive/macros/texinfo/texinfo/util/gen-dir-node
Couldn't this script, or something like it, be made a part of Cygwin and
run each time a setup installation procedure is completed? Couldn't the
user AT LEAST be prompted to choose whether to run it, or advised that he
should?
That's my suggested addition (for today) to whatever it is that `setup'
does. I am not currently involved in hacking on `setup' so I won't be
contributing any patches on this issue; it will have to fall to someone
else to (maybe) implement this, for the time being (other priorities are
just unrefusable for me at present). Thanks for your attention.
Soren Andersen
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