Re: Informix Documents on CD ...Man Pages ?

> walt@mathcs.emory.edu (Walt Hultgren {rmy}) writes: > In article <DCpKHo.HGr@triada.triad.com>, Karl Bishop <kfb@triad.com> > wrote: > > > >At the IUC last month, there was a survey being passed out about > >Informix documentation being distributed via CD-ROM. They text > >on the survey "implied" that this was a work in progress. > > Based on the wording of the survey and the conversation I had with one of > the Informix booth people, it appears that they are strongly leaning toward > providing CD-ROM manuals that could only be accessed from Windows on a PC. > There would be no way to access the manuals from, say, a Unix workstation > with a CD-ROM drive. Hard-copy manuals would be extra-charge items. > > I've never been that big a fan of on-line manuals as my only documentation > choice, all of the current hubbub over hypertext notwithstanding. If > Informix > wants to go the paperless route, make it beneficial to me as well as cost > cutting for them. Pick a format that already has viewers for many > environments > like HTML (first choice) or display PostScript. Make regular manual > updates > part of basic maintenance and/or make the patch files available via the > Internet. Ideas like that would make me more willing to clean off my > bookshelf. Although I understand your consern Walt, I am *very* afraid of anything that is made to be compatible over different platforms. It so often makes all parties unhappy (NewEra ver. 1.0 comes to mind, but others are worse). If it can be done at least as good as a specialized MS Windows (or Motif) version, fine. If not *don't* do it! The update part is of course great. And again ***keep*** the fine printed manuals: > > bzhu@ma.copley.com (bill zhu) writes: > Yes. I like CD documents. It will save a lot trees. Searching an answer > on CD is much faster then on a manual. Informix should do it ASAP. Trees? And people? There are lots of trees. If you didn't know they actually for the most part grow out of thin air (taking up the carbon from the air). Yes CD's are good, and we must have them, but what a disservice to the programming community if they are the only option. How can I demand that programmers I work with read the complete manuals on screen. Do you have a high quality screen they can take home (and a "search" engine for the CD that will present everything sequentially)? You seem to forget that you had to learn the whole thing once, and new products are coming out constantly where you need to do that. Don't anybody *read* the manuals? They are exciting. You can learn from minute to minute, hour to hour. When you don't read manuals there may be days between each new thing you find out that is usefull for years to come. Nils.Myklebust@ccmail.telemax.no NM-data, Dalsbergstien 7, N-0170 Oslo, Norway My opinions are those of my company