I tend to take a PDF and extract "chapters", so from TCPIP config
reference. I use pdftk on Linux to extract the section(s) on AT-TLS and
make one PDF. This makes it easier to search. If you search for PORT in
the online, or full pdf TCPIP docs you can't find the one you need.
Having pdf chapters feels a good compromise.
With the online docs, you often get a page with just a few sentences on it,
and a link to another page. It takes about 2 seconds to get to the next
page, so I find online tends to be slower.
Colin
On Fri, 17 Jan 2025 at 20:13, Bob Bridges <
00000587168ababf-dmarc-requ...@listserv.ua.edu> wrote:
> Certainly I agree with some of this. But to qualify #3 and to a lesser
> extent #2, I'm a bit of a fussbudget about my hard-drive organization and
> my
> web bookmarks; I have dozens of PDFs and hundreds of web sites but I can
> usually put my hands on the one I want without much trouble. Some people
> think it's too much trouble to worry about, but "library science is
> foundational to all human knowledge", ie if you know you have it stored
> somewhere but can't remember the path and/or filename how does it help?
>
> And I spend most of my time in front of a screen, anyway, so #1 doesn't
> apply :).
>
> ---
> Bob Bridges, robhbrid...@gmail.com, cell 336 382-7313
>
> /* Cooking tip: If you cook your kale with a little coconut oil, it makes
> it
> easier to scrape it into the garbage. -YS @NYinLS2121 */
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: IBM Mainframe Discussion List <IBM-MAIN@LISTSERV.UA.EDU> On Behalf
> Of
> billogden
> Sent: Friday, January 17, 2025 12:25
>
> Having been involved with many publications over the years and being
> somewhat interested in "how useful was it" discussions, I must agree with
> those who think "real printed" publications are often more useful.
>
> 1. You do not need to sit in front of a screen to read them.
> 2. You can easily (with paper clips, fingers, etc) refer back and forth
> between useful sections.
> 3. You can usually put your hands on the printed pub, whereas with all
> the exotic network names, addresses, URLs, aliases, logons, passwords, and
> so forth I have often been unable to find the same online material I was
> trying to read last week.
> 4. While it is difficult to prove this, I have found that many people
> tend to remember better those tidbits they read on "real" paper.
> 5. I sometimes make little notes on a paper page.
> 6. Like others who have made comments, I almost NEVER read a full pub
> online. I might not fully read a printed pub, but I often scan ("flip
> through") the whole thing -- just to find material that "catches my eye."
> 7. Many manuals (mostly z/OS related materials) have grown MUCH larger
> (or they might start out this way!) There are some odd economic and
> management aspects to this. Real printed material cost $$$ to produce and
> distribute and there can be some effort made to better control the amount
> of
> text (i.e, the number of pages) involved. Online material costs almost
> nothing to distribute and, believe it or not, more text can mean less
> editing/management involved. In many cases, the number of pages produced
> might be indirectly reflected in salaries and promotions.
> 8. The growing sizes often makes it difficult ($$) to actually print a
> PDF.
> 9. Feedback from users can be more effective for "real" printed manuals,
> especially when the authors' names are included.
>
> My $0.02, if it is worth that much!
>
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