Linux documentation
 

I have read a few articles that complain about Linux documentation standards. They mostly compare them with Solaris. Apparently Solaris documentation is very rigid, which is probably a good thing.

I wish that there were more books on the market explaining GTK+ and QT, expecially the newest versions. I would love to go to a website to learn about xlib and how to design my own widget set. What do you guys think about this subject.

I've been using Linux for about six months now, and I want to keep using it. I wish that something like Mplayer came preinstalled with a GUI and I wish that Java2 came preinstalled with a JRE for Mozilla, as well as flash 6. Why don't these applications come preinstalled? Anyway, it would also be great if Linux had multimedia tutorials that explained how to use the operating system, similar to WinXP multimedia tutorials. One of the biggest weaknesses I find in Linux is multimedia and documentation. The OS itself is the best OS i've ever used.

As far as documentation, I don't remember sun's docs being any better than your average howto. One should expect some differences in Linux documentation due to the fact that at best it can only be loosly governed by a few agencies but is really written by thousands of individuals.

For applications, if it doesn't come with what you want, bug the makers of your distribution (Redhat, Mandrake, Slackware, etc) as they are the ones who determine what software comes with your flavor of Linux.

And last, the multimedia tutorials is a great idea, I noticed that in Slackware I could install the HOWTOs but it's buried in some subdir. Something as simple as putting a shortcut to these in the skeleton X desktop would be handy for the beginner.

Yes, I also thought that multimedia tutorials would be great for a beginner, myself included. Experinced users could avoid installing this package, however it should be a default. That way I could actually see how major servers are installed on this exact version of Linux, as well as become familair with the basic applications by seeing a video. That would kick ass.

Re: Linux documentation
 

I like the official documentation. Once I needed to write a QT/KDE prog and it took me one evening to learn how to program QT/KDE. I like xlib reference, too. I guess it's a matter of the way people use documentation. I have to use references...Books just don't give all the details I need. When you're searching for an overview, documentation of many libraries/programs may be too detailed.

Which xlib reference manual did you use?

The one that comes with XFree source. Short one, ~500 pages when printed. :D