info::Linux Help Mechanisms

[twistedcranium]

Linux documentation comes in many gui type forms, PDFs, HTML, etc. But what about command line help? Wouldn't it be great to find out how to use that 'grep' command without leaving the shell window?

Yup, and there are three methods of getting to such command help. man, --help, and info.

man : just about every linux command or program has a man page. Just type 'man grep' to see the manual page for the grep command. It will list switch options, common usage and more. You can navigate the man page with the arrow keys and pressing Q will exit you when you're done.

info : some programs provide info pages, which are more detailed in their coverage of the command. Consider these types of help docs more like guides.

--help : sometimes commands provide a shortened version of the man page information in this --help document. It is useful for quick info about the structure or syntax of a command.

Now, not all three of these will exist for a particular command, but knowing that these are the used types, might help you out of a jam someday.