Re: [help-texinfo] managing the dir node

[Karl Berry]

Hi Stepan,

    Where could I find and empty dir file, which would contain all the
    base categories, in the right order?

There is no canonical file with all categories.  (There's an indefinite
number of categories.)

FWIW, the dir file I use on my machine is in the Texinfo distribution,
util/dir-example.  I'm happy to add any Texinfo manuals people tell me
about that are not listed there.  Basically it contains the ones I know
about or have run across.

A year or two ago, rms and I discussed it and he suggested using
categories from the Free Software Directory wherever possible.  So
that's what I've been trying to do.

I try to reconcile the manuals I see with the categories already used,
and report back to the maintainers, but it's one of those jobs that will
never be finished.

Regenerating the dir file automatically does not seem like a good idea
to me.  Using scripts (there are two in texinfo/util) to generate an
initial dir file can be useful as a starting point, but some amount of
editing by hand is necessary for best results, in the current state of
things.

It's a mess.

k