From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 From: Richard Stallman To: gnu-prog@gnu.org Subject: What free manuals do we need? Date: Fri, 02 Oct 1998 13:39:00 -0000 Message-id: <199810022037.QAA05425@delysid.gnu.org> X-SW-Source: 1998/msg00139.html I would like to make a list of the free software packages that don't have a full set of the free manuals that they ought to have. This is to expand the list of neeed manuals in the GNU task list. Typically, a package ought to have both a tutorial introduction and a reference manual (though sometimes it is possible to make one manual do both jobs). A good reference manual is not just a list of functions and documentation for each one--it should be organized by topics, and should discuss each topic as a whole, describing individual functions as a part of that. (Contrast the GNU Emacs Lisp Reference Manual with the collection of Emacs Lisp doc strings.) If a package doesn't have all the free documentation it really calls for have, or if it isn't good enough to publish, then we have a gap. The goal here is to make a more complete list of these gaps. This is not limited to GNU programs (programs released under the auspices of the GNU project). We need documentation for all the programs used in the GNU/Linux system (if users need to know about them). So please make suggestions about important non-GNU free packages also. Thanks.