Date: Thu, 27 Nov 1997 21:14:36 -0800 From: Studded <Studded@dal.net> To: glb@Zeus.jersey.net Cc: freebsd-questions@freebsd.org Subject: Re: That little number in parens(*) Message-ID: <347E533C.4858683@dal.net> References: <199711280357.WAA27521@zeus.jersey.net>
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glb@Zeus.jersey.net wrote: > > After reading a lot of docs, I still haven't found out what that > number in parens after command names and such is (ie. lpr(1)). *Nod* One of the things I have found frustrating about learning Unix is what I refer to as the "Secret Knowledge," or those things that everyone just knows somehow. :) Never be afraid to ask questions like this, and remember, the man pages are your friends. > What is the number? What does it refer to? It refers to the section of the on line manual that this particular item is found. In a lot of cases, the number isn't strictly necessary because if you do "man lpr" there is only one manual entry for that item, and it brings up the proper section by default. In those cases where there are items with the same name that have different incarnations, there are usually man pages in each section that is appropriate. For example, do 'whatis sd' (no quotes of course) and you will see that there is an sd(4) and and sd(9). You can specify the proper section by doing man 4 sd, or man 9 sd. I thought sure I'd seen a man page that describes the layout of each section, but I can't find it right now. This would be a good thing for Greg's book though. :) Hope this helps, Doug
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