Xref: utzoo comp.sys.amiga.programmer:4602 comp.sys.amiga.advocacy:3988 Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.programmer,comp.sys.amiga.advocacy Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!uupsi!sugar!peter From: peter@sugar.hackercorp.com (Peter da Silva) Subject: DEC Documentation? Hahaahahahahahahhhhaaaaaaaa Message-ID: <1991Jun17.142942.2952@sugar.hackercorp.com> Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga.advocacy Organization: Sugar Land Unix -- Houston, TX References: <3036@public.BTR.COM> Date: Mon, 17 Jun 1991 14:29:42 GMT Warning: rampant anti-DEC flame. Respect followups. In article vinsci@nic.funet.fi (Leonard Norrgard) writes: > Add VMS from Digital to the list. Now the difference with their source > code is that it is clean and readable. That would be a nice change from their documentation, AKA the "Orange Wall". Oh, individual sections are well written, use proper english, are very clear, and so on... but there's no usable cross-reference, no reference section worth the name (they seem to think people should be able to use a tutorial as a reference manual), and so on. Every time I want to do something on the damned VAXes it's hell finding out what I need. Even something as simple as a terminal server comes with 3 volumes! > Something I've not yet heard about CBM's (cf. the code in the RKM's). On the other hand, the RKMs themselves are excellent *reference* manuals. There is a lack of decent tutorial material and working examples, but you can find out what a given function does, how it should be called, and so on without having to spend hours digging stuff up. > Of course, here another difference comes > up, in that VMS is actually *documented*. Nice, very clean > descriptions of each OS/library function, This must be in some extra manual not shipped in the standard orange wall, right? > and that documentation was written by *technical writers*, Technical writers are great, but they should spend some time with the people who actually want to use the manuals instead of blindly following their design rules. -- Peter da Silva. `-_-' . 'U` "Have you hugged your wolf today?"