Re: documenting Unix command lines; more than one line

[barryk -at- MDHOST -dot- CSE -dot- TEK -dot- COM]

On Tue, 9 Sep 1997, Stephen D. Martin wrote:

> One should also think of the non-power user, the poor smuck who'll end
> up typing in that backslash, and who'll end up getting an
> incomprehensible error message.  Assuming that Jen and Eric User do try
> to type the indented line as a distinct command, they are more likely to
> get a helpful error message.
>


Get a "helpful error message", Stephen?

Me thinks thou hast not used UNIX too often.

The shell does not return "helpful error messages".

You will simply get a syntax error message if you type it in the command
line.

If it is part of a script, the result might be far from what "Jen or Eric
User" expected. And syntax errors are the hardest to find.

Bottom line, as a Technical Writer, our job is to supply the customer with
correct and useful information.

Use a backslash (/) don't dink around with cutesy nonstandard usage.


Regards,

Barry Kieffer
Tektronix, Inc.

Me speaks for mine self only...

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