peter@sugar.hackercorp.com (Peter da Silva) (06/17/91)
Warning: rampant anti-DEC flame. Respect followups. In article <VINSCI.91Jun14003452@nic.nic.funet.fi> 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. `-_-' <peter@sugar.neosoft.com>. 'U` "Have you hugged your wolf today?"
plouff@kali.enet.dec.com (Wes Plouff) (06/19/91)
In article <1991Jun17.142942.2952@sugar.hackercorp.com>, peter@sugar.hackercorp.com (Peter da Silva) writes... >Warning: rampant anti-DEC flame. Respect followups. > >That would be a nice change from their documentation, AKA the "Orange Wall". Out of date. Now gray. >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. The _VMS General User's Manual_, order number AA-LA98A-TE, contains both tutorial and reference sections, much like the old blue Osborne 1 manual. >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! Not since April. (hee, hee!) Read the newspapers... Please note my affiliation. Also, no slight intended to Peter Da Silva. This posting is just to inject a few facts into the discussion. -- Wes Plouff, Digital Equipment Corp, Maynard, Mass. plouff@kali.enet.dec.com Networking bibliography: _Islands in the Net_, by Bruce Sterling _The Matrix_, by John S. Quarterman