Re: help doesn't list all any longer

[Yoshinori K. Okuji]

At Fri, 08 Feb 2002 08:53:52 +0100,
Christoph Plattner wrote:
> The pager implementation looks and feels good and is working 
> (I tested on an embedded machine, serial console, not in dumbed mode).

That's great.

> 1) the command `pager':
>       I would prefer following:
>       pager <without arguments>
>               gives cuttent state (not toggeling)
>       pager on|off
>               does the switch 

I thought of the same thing, but I chose another way, because this is
consistent with other commands, such as "fstest". Honestly, I prefer
your way, though.

However, I don't think it is very important to know what the current
status is. Perhaps when the user wants to run "pager", he/she wants to
turn on or off the pager, but neither toggling nor notification of
current status. So I guess it wouldn't matter what "pager" does with
no argument, in reality.

> 2) `help' only should output the list in one coloum.

That's a matter of taste. I prefer the two-columns style, because the
density of information is much higher. In my use, when specifying no
argument to "help", I expect to see a brief summary but not
details. If I want complete descriptions, I can specify any command
names.

Another reasoning: That's consistent with BASH.

Of course, I wouldn't object, if many users prefer one-column style to
two-columns one.

Thanks,
Okuji