man-pages-2.54 is released

man-pages-2.54 is released

[Michael Kerrisk]

Gidday,

I just released man-pages-2.54

This release is now available for download at:

    http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/docs/manpages
    or ftp://ftp.kernel.org/pub/linux/docs/manpages
    or mirrors: ftp://ftp.XX.kernel.org/pub/linux/docs/manpages

and soon at:

    ftp://ftp.win.tue.nl/pub/linux-local/manpages

This release includes a new page, man-pages.7, that describes the
conventions that should be used when writing pages for man-pages.  A few
other changes that may be of interest to readers of this list are are noted
below.

Cheers,

Michael


==================== Changes in man-pages-2.54 ====================

New pages
---------

man-pages.7
    mtk
        A description of the conventions that should be followed
        when writing pages for the man-pages package.

Changes to individual pages
---------------------------

fcntl.2
    mtk
        Remove misleading text about setting O_ASYNC when calling
        open(); one must use fcntl() F_SETFL for this task.

fdatasync.2
    mtk
        Converted outdated BUGS note about fdatasync() being
        equivalent to fsync() on Linux 2.2 into a NOTES note
        about this historical behaviour.

mprotect.2
    mtk, after an observation by Emmanuel Mogenet
        A much improved example program.
    mtk
        Significant rewrites and additions to description.

-- 
Michael Kerrisk
maintainer of Linux man pages Sections 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7

Want to help with man page maintenance?  Grab the latest tarball at
http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/docs/manpages/
read the HOWTOHELP file and grep the source files for 'FIXME'.

Re: man-pages-2.54 is released

[Gerhard Mack]

On Fri, 8 Jun 2007, Michael Kerrisk wrote:

> I just released man-pages-2.54
> 

This may sound like a dumb question but since you just released 
man-pages-2.52 and man-pages-2.53 recently as one batch and now this one. 

What is the difference between the versions and how do I know wich to 
install?

	Gerhard



--
Gerhard Mack

gmack@innerfire.net

<>< As a computer I find your faith in technology amusing.

Re: man-pages-2.54 is released

[Michael Kerrisk]

Gerhard Mack wrote:
> On Fri, 8 Jun 2007, Michael Kerrisk wrote:
> 
>> I just released man-pages-2.54
>>
> 
> This may sound like a dumb question but since you just released 
> man-pages-2.52 and man-pages-2.53 recently as one batch and now this one. 

Let's just say that I've been very busy lately...  (Getting some paid time
to work on man-pages helps a lot!)  One reason that releases get split up
is that for major edits (especially for formatting as opposed to content),
I am trying to separate the edits into separate releases to ease the life
of some downstream maintainers and translators.  From the MAINTAINING file
in the tarball:

    One day, it won't be me any more, so to make life easier for the
    next maintainer: some tips on how to maintain the Linux manual
    pages

    ...

    Release Philosophy
    ==================

    If you make sweeping *formatting* changes on a large number of
    pages, separate them out into their own release that contains
    minimal *content* changes.  This makes it easier for the people
    that want to verify content changes independently of the change
    log.  Yes, some people actually diff each release to see what
    changed; for example, downstream maintainers, and translators of
    the man pages (such as the dedicated Alain Portal, in recent
    times) sometimes like to do this.

> What is the difference between the versions and how do I know wich to 
> install?

The latest is, well, the latest.  (Take a look at Changes and Changes.old
in each release.)  Today, you want 2.54.  In a few days, you're likely to
want 2.55 ;-).

Best regards,

Michael

-- 
Michael Kerrisk
maintainer of Linux man pages Sections 2, 3, 4, 5, and 7

Want to help with man page maintenance?  Grab the latest tarball at
http://www.kernel.org/pub/linux/docs/manpages/
read the HOWTOHELP file and grep the source files for 'FIXME'.

Re: man-pages-2.54 is released

[Jan Engelhardt]

On Jun 8 2007 18:03, Michael Kerrisk wrote:
>    Release Philosophy
>    ==================
>
>    If you make sweeping *formatting* changes on a large number of
>    pages, separate them out into their own release that contains
>    minimal *content* changes.  This makes it easier for the people
>    that want to verify content changes independently of the change
>    log.  Yes, some people actually diff each release to see what
>    changed; for example, downstream maintainers, and translators of
>    the man pages (such as the dedicated Alain Portal, in recent
>    times) sometimes like to do this.

I think that sounds more like a repository (svn/git) philosophy
than a release philosophy.


	Jan
--