The Gentoo way of "whatis database"?

ClaesBas · n00b Joined: 20 Jul 2002 Posts: 38 Location: Stockholm

I wonder how the Gentoo "Gurus" have thougt about the whatis database...

To be able to do apropos or whatis the whatis database must have been build before (ie makewhatis).

Shouldn't every ebuild containing a man-page do a makewhatis?
If not should every user have to do it manualy (or from cron)?

Just an wondering....

Carlos · Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2003 10:06 am Post subject:

makewhatis takes forever, and it's done from scratch each time so it would be a colossal waste if, in emerging nine packages, Portage did makewhatis after each one. Sure, you could tell Portage to do makewhatis only after it's emerged each package passed to it, but what if you're doing them one by one for whatever reason?

There's also the fact that when you're using whatis and apropos, you're generally searching for tool foo to do task bar, knowing bar. Since you're the one emerging package foo, you're probably going to do it too, so doing makewhatis after each package doesn't make so much sense.

Having a cron job seems like the best way for me; I do it daily around 4 am.
_________________
Man must shape his tools lest they shape him.

ClaesBas · n00b Joined: 20 Jul 2002 Posts: 38 Location: Stockholm

I'm no expert at the makewhatis command but it looks like it has an -u pararmeter for updates of new pages and -s for sections and so on...

How does other distros handle it (RPM for example)?

Carlos · Posted: Tue Feb 18, 2003 10:41 am Post subject:

You're right; 'makewhatis -u' takes mere seconds. I'm changing my vote.
_________________
Man must shape his tools lest they shape him.

telex4 · l33t Joined: 21 Sep 2002 Posts: 704 Location: Reading, UK

Absolutely. Yes. Definitely

It's a real pain having to remember to do "makewhatis" after every installation, and many people own't even realise it needs to be done!

Yazmon · Tux's lil' helper Joined: 13 Jan 2003 Posts: 84

charlieg · Posted: Thu Feb 20, 2003 4:28 pm Post subject:

WTF is 'makewhatis'?
_________________
Want Free games?
Free Gamer - open source games list & commentary

Open source web-enabled rich UI platform: Vexi

telex4 · l33t Joined: 21 Sep 2002 Posts: 704 Location: Reading, UK

makewhatis makes the database for tools like apropos and whatis from all of your manfiles. Apropos can then tell you programs whose manfiles include your specified word, and whatis prints out the summary of the program you specify.

They're cool tools