The Saturday 2004-10-09 at 18:25 +0900, - Edwin - wrote:
He is an academic, and I tend to agree with him ... if you are doing any serious work on a computer and you have to spend time, learning manuals ... it takes time from the actual work, you need the computer for.
Hmm, I'm sure that's *not* the best way to say "thanks" to those _volunteers_ who spent lots of hours writing those manuals/man pages.
Mmmm... Let us say it another way: A program that can be used eficiently without need to read the manual is probably well thought and designed. If you need to look at the manual, it is just to check a detail, not to study or learn it all. And that doesn't mean that having manuals is a bad thing. Only that not needing them is better - when possible. Let's refine it further: if you can start using a program and produce reasonable results without reading manuals, or just reading them briefly, it is a well thought program. On the other hand, more complex results may require reading it, or at least consulting. I wonder I make myself understood :-? I'm a bit sleepy :-) -- Cheers, Carlos Robinson