random Linux notes 2012-04-28
Old Machine? Use Light-weight Desktop: Xfce, LXDE
Content moved to: Linux: How to Install New Window Manager (Gnome, KDE, Xfce, xmonad, etc)
Learn Technical Writing from Unix Man in 10 Days
remove is identical to install except that packages are removed instead of installed.
Disappearing URL in Doc
so, i was reading man git. Quote:
Formatted and hyperlinked version of the latest git documentation can be viewed at http://www.kernel.org/pub/software/scm/git/docs/.
but if you go to that URL, it shows a list of over one hundred forty empty dirs.
I guess unix/linux idiots can't be bothered to have correct documentation. Unskilled in writing is one thing, but they are incapable of maintaining a link or updating docs?
does this ever happen to Apple's docs? If it did, i don't ever recall seeing it from 18 years of using Mac.
more records of careless dead link:
- A Record of Frustration in IT Industry; Disappearing FSF URLs
- Python Doc Dead Links. 2011
- unix: Hunspell Path Pain
- Why Qi Lisp Fails and Clojure Succeeds
- Hackers: Dead Links and Human Compassion?
apt-get Package Naming Confusion
so a friend told me about a game named “githug”. It's a command-line app that teaches you git, as if playing a game.
githug site says: gem install githug. I
ran which gem and got no result, so i brainlessly typed sudo apt-get install gem and it went. But
apparently, the gem package isn't what i want. What i wanted, turns
out, is called “rubygems”, which is ruby's package management
system.
there are several issues thus far:
- in unix, never brainlessly run things on command line (like i just did) unless you sure know what you running
- WTF is “gem” and “gem” named the same?
- question: how do YOU find a description of a package in “apt-get”?
now, continuing the story… so i:
sudo apt-get install rubygems
then i
gem install githug
all went well, except, when i type
which githug
nothing is to be found. WTF is going on?
What is /var/lib/ For?
“githug” is installed in /var/lib/gems by default. You need to either call it with full path or add it to your $PATH.
(the command updatedb and locate are helpful in locating files.
They are basically a cached version of find …. (Thanks to [Huynh Kang https://plus.google.com/116962894211949702064/posts]))
Why the faak is it in /var/ dir?? To refresh my Unix Philosophy, see: Unix directory structure. Quote:
/var, a short for “variable.” A place for files that may change often.
in unix shit, there's always some tech justification that makes you feel better.