There are several resources available to get the information you
need to use and configure your Red Hat Enterprise Linux system.
Along with the Red Hat Enterprise Linux documentation there are
manual pages, documents that detail usage
of important applications and files; Info
pages which break information about an application down by
context-sensitive menus; and help files
that are included in the main menubar of graphical applications.
You can choose any method of accessing documentation that best
suits your needs, as all of these resources are either already
installed on your Red Hat Enterprise Linux system or can be easily
installed.
1.7.1. Manual
Pages
Applications, utilities, and shell prompt commands usually have
corresponding manual pages (also called man pages) that show the
reader available options and values of file or executable. Man
Pages are structured in such a way that users can quickly scan the
page for pertinent information, which is important when dealing
with commands that they have not previously encountered.
1.7.1.1.
Using man
Man Pages can be accessed via shell prompt by typing the command
man and the name of the executable. For
example, to access the man page for the ls
command, type the following:
The NAME field shows the
executable's name and a brief explanation of what function the
executable performs. The SYNOPSIS
field shows the common usage of the executable, such as what
options are declared and what types of input (such as files or
values) the executable supports. The DESCRIPTION field shows available options and
values associated with a file or executable. See Also shows related terms, files, and
programs.
To navigate the man page you can use the "arrow" keys or use the
[Spacebar] to move down one page and
[B] to move up. To exit the man page,
type [Q] .
To search a man page for keywords type [/] and then a keyword or phrase and press
[Enter] . All instances of the keyword
will be highlighted throughout the man page, allowing you to
quickly read the keyword in context.
1.7.1.2.
Printing a Man Page
Printing man pages is a useful way to archive commonly used
commands, perhaps in bound form for quick reference. If you have a
printer available and configured for use with Red Hat Enterprise
Linux (refer to the Red Hat Enterprise Linux
System Administration Guide for more information), you can
print a man page by typing the following command at a shell
prompt:
man command| col -b | lpr
|
The example above combines separate commands into one unique
function. man command will output the contents of
the command man page to
col, which formats the contents to fit
within a printed page. The lpr command
sends the formatted content to the printer.
1.7.1.3.
The man Man Page
Just like other commands, man has its
own man page. Type man man at the shell
prompt for more information.
1.7.2. Red
Hat Enterprise Linux Documentation
If you have the Red Hat Enterprise Linux boxed set, remember to
take a look at the Red Hat Enterprise Linux Documentation CD. All
of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux manuals are on this CD. Individual
downloads of our documentation in HTML, RPM, PDF, and compressed
tarball format (.tar.gz) are also available at https://www.redhat.com/docs/. Once you have logged in to
your user account, inserting the Documentation CD in your CD-ROM
drive should automatically start the Package
Management Tool and allow you to install any of the Red Hat
Enterprise Linux documentation. Follow the instructions and choose
the documentation you would like to install.
If you have downloaded individual documentation RPM packages
from the Red Hat website at https://www.redhat.com/docs/ you can install these
manuals from a shell prompt. Open a shell prompt, and type the
following at the command line:
Press [Enter] . You will be asked
for your root password. Enter the password at the prompt and press
[Enter] . You are now logged in as
root. To install all of the Red Hat Enterprise Linux manuals,
change to the directory that contains the RPM files and type the
following:
Press [Enter] .
To install only certain manuals, replace rhl-*.rpm with the full file name of the manual
that you want to install. For example, the file name for the
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Step By Step
Guide will look something like rhl-gsg-en-4.noarch.rpm, so you would type the
following to install it on your system:
rpm -ivh /mnt/cdrom/rhl-gsg-en-4.noarch.rpm
|
Press [Enter] . Type exit at the command line and press
[Enter] . This logs you out of the root
account and back to your user account.
