[Info-vax] HP stopping VMS paper documentation ?

[AEF]

On Nov 26, 5:15 pm, Jan-Erik Soderholm <jan-erik.soderh... at telia.com>
wrote:
> Fritz Wuehler wrote 2011-11-26 22:07:
>
> > Jan-Erik Soderholm<jan-erik.soderh... at telia.com>  wrote:
> >> Everyone professionall enough reads the PDFs on a laptop or
> >> similar, not on the target system you are supporting, of course.
>
> > I disagree with this. I've been writing code for a long time and it was
> > definitely easier and I still prefer having a manual open on the desk for
> > reference.
>
> You missed the point.
> What I was commenting was reading the manuals on the VMS system itself.
> This part :
>
>  >> JF Mezei wrote 2011-11-23 18:58:
>  >>> paper is also necessary when you do work at the SRM level or very low
>  >>> level (such as SYSBOOT) where your system has not booted sufficiently
>  >>> for you to access on-line documentation.
>
> That was just silly. Noone would use the VMS system itself to
> read the docs. Today...
>
> > Switching back and forth from where you are editing code to a
> > manual in PDF is extremely disruptive, and searching using Acrobat takes
> > longer than finding the information in a manual (even a very large one) if
> > you know the manual from years of using it. Paper manuals are a clear win
> > on this alone. I like having a full set of printed doc around and I prefer
> > real books as well.
>
> Then you expect to do all your work at some specific physical place.
> Or do you always bring your bookshelf (the "wall") with you?

Yes, some of us don't travel from site to site like you do.

Even if you do, you can still use the wall at your regular workplace.

>
> I do have an "office" but I'm not very much there. Mostly I work from home
> or at the customer sites. The PDF's weight *way* less then the binders! :-)

"weigh way" reminds me of a push-cart hot dog street vendor who has
this on his push cart: We're on a roll!

>
> For lookup reference I prefer PDF.

Why do pdf's always come up in some stupid format/size/whatever. You
always have to adjust it to fit a single page in the window. WTF isn't
the default view ever something reasonable. Why is it often some
random, "non-prime" fraction of a page that fills the window at
startup? Then the font is too small to read easily. And one of the
scroll bars does, or used, do stupid things.

PDF files are great for two things: searching and printing. Yes, a
printed pdf file is a beautiful thing.

Books don't require electrical power to read, just your own muscles.
The books are "recyclable"; the electrical power isn't. (Well, I
suppose you could put turbo on your PC to convert some of the heat
into electricity, but there will always be a significant amount of
waste heat that escapes.)

> For *reading* I prefer real books, but they are never about VMS. :-)

Mind over matter? Sure. It's called muscles.

AEF