info

Understanding Documentation-info

Documentation-info isn’t a single command in itself; it’s a symbolic link (or sometimes a shell script) usually pointing to a file containing information about the available documentation for your system. This information typically includes details on various manuals, guides, and informational files related to the kernel, utilities, and other system components. The location of this symbolic link might vary slightly depending on your distribution, but it’s commonly found in /usr/share/doc.

Accessing Your System’s Documentation

The simplest way to use Documentation-info is to execute it directly from your terminal:

Documentation-info

This will print the contents of the file to your terminal, showcasing the different sections of documentation available. The output will vary based on your distribution and installed packages, but you’ll generally see descriptions of various manual pages, HOWTOs, and other informational files.

Navigating the Output

The output from Documentation-info often provides paths to specific documentation files. For example, you might see lines like:

Documentation/admin-guide/
Documentation/html/
Documentation/mini-howto/

These paths indicate directories containing documentation. To access the contents of a specific directory, use the cd command:

cd /usr/share/doc/$(Documentation-info | grep 'Documentation/admin-guide/' | cut -d'/' -f2)  # Example, based on your output
ls -l

This command first executes Documentation-info, pipes the output to grep to filter for the Documentation/admin-guide/ line, then uses cut to extract only the directory name. Finally, it changes the directory and lists its contents with ls -l. Remember to adjust the grep pattern based on the actual output of Documentation-info on your system.

Searching for Specific Information

Instead of manually parsing the output, you can use tools like grep to find specific information within the Documentation-info output:

Documentation-info | grep "networking"

This will display only the lines containing the word “networking,” potentially highlighting relevant documentation sections.

Using less for Better Readability

For lengthy outputs, using less is advisable for better navigation:

Documentation-info | less

This will open the output in the less pager, allowing you to scroll through the information using the arrow keys and other less commands.

Locating Specific Manual Pages

Often, Documentation-info will point towards man pages. You can then use the man command to view the manual page directly:

Let’s say Documentation-info reveals a path like /usr/share/man/man1/ls.1.gz. You could then access the ls manual page with:

man ls

This illustrates how Documentation-info acts as a guide to your system’s extensive documentation resources. By effectively utilizing this command in conjunction with other command-line tools, you can efficiently locate and access information relevant to your system administration tasks.