Re: the defaults for `info`

[Benno Schulenberg]

Eli Zaretskii wrote:
> > From: Benno Schulenberg <address@hidden>
> > The alternative is to also provide good and complete man pages
> > with all GNU packages.
>
> I don't see why the GNU project needs to provide duplicate sets
> of documentation.

You misunderstand.  It was meant as an absurd alternative: providing 
all GNU documents also as well-formatted man pages is surely far 
more costly than providing a separately and concisely documented 
Info reader with simple default key bindings.

> the standalone Info reader has the --usage command-line that
> should get you to that section, i.e. "info --usage FOO" should
> perform the same mission as "man FOO".

Well, 'man man' gives me the man page of `man` the program, but 
'info info' does not give me the Info document about `info` the 
program.  Sure, 'info info-stnd' would give me that, but who is 
ever going to guess that?  Not even 'man info' mentions this.  And 
no one is going to read 'info info' until they find the reference 
to info-stnd in "Advanced Info Commands".  What most people want 
from the 'info info' document is a simple list of the most common 
commands, something like what <H> gives in `less`, but simpler.  
(<H> in `info` is far too complex, it uses only half of the screen, 
and when you press <Q> it quits the whole Info reader instead of 
just the help, even when --vi-keys is in effect.)

> Did you try the --vi-keys option?  If not, please try, I think
> you will like it.

It's hard to tell, as there is no simple, short list that shows how 
--vi-keys changes the bindings, a list with just three columns: 
action, default key, vi-like key.  Also, --vi-keys does not switch 
cursor-movement-scrolls on; it should.  And how is one supposed to 
select a menu item when --vi-keys is in effect?  The Enter key then 
simply scrolls down one line; this is making `info` harder to use, 
not easier.

Benno