1    Finding the Documentation You Need

You can find most of the Tru64 UNIX documentation you need on the Documentation CD-ROM that comes with the Tru64 UNIX product and also on the World Wide Web. Most of this documentation is provided on line in HTML and PDF formats and is also available as printed books.

Your Web browser gives you access to the HTML format, and the Adobe Acrobat Reader lets you view and print the PDF versions. The printed books are packaged in kits that you can purchase from Compaq.

Additional documentation is included on the Tru64 UNIX Operating System CD-ROM and on the Associated Products CD-ROMs.

This chapter can help you to find the documentation you need, in the format that is most convenient to you.

1.1    Introduction to the Documentation Set

Tru64 UNIX is a feature-rich operating system designed to be used in many different types of computing environments. The components of the operating system range from those used by every user to those used by only a small handful of users.

Likewise, the documentation must serve many different users in different fields and with different levels of technical knowledge -- from the novice general user to the advanced system administrator or program developer.

The Tru64 UNIX documentation is organized according to whether it is used by all users, or specifically by system and network administrators and software programmers:

Be aware, however, that some of this documentation is written to serve different audiences. For example, the Security manual is divided into three parts to provide guidance for individual users, system administrators, and programmers who must develop secure programs.

The following sections describe some of the terms used to categorize documentation that is provided with the operating system or used in conjunction with utilities and applications that run on the operating system.

1.1.1    Core Documentation

Core documentation consists of books and reference pages that help you to use the Tru64 UNIX operating system, including the components provided when you install the system's optional and mandatory subsets.

The core documentation is provided in printed and online formats and was created by Compaq writers who worked closely with the developers of the operating system to document the system's various components (except for a few externally published manuals).

On line, the Tru64 UNIX reference pages are available as optional subsets of the operating system and in HTML format on the Documentation CD-ROM. They are also available as printed books in a multivolume kit.

For information about the core manuals and guides, see the "Printed and Online Documentation" sections of Chapter 2, Chapter 3, and Chapter 4. For information about the reference pages, see Chapter 6.

1.1.2    Supplementary Documentation

Supplementary documentation tends to be less formal in structure than the core documentation. This category includes many different types of documents, such as QuickSpecs (formerly called Product Descriptions), release notes for some components of the Tru64 UNIX operating system, and industry reference material and white papers that come from Compaq engineers and other sources. Supplementary documentation exists only on line, so it is not available in any of the printed Tru64 UNIX documentation kits.

Much of the supplementary documentation is provided on the Documentation CD-ROM, although some is packaged with the individual software subsets or in various directories on Tru64 UNIX media. For more information about the supplementary documentation on the Documentation CD-ROM, see the "Online Documentation" sections of the following chapters. For information about other supplementary documentation, see Chapter 5.

1.1.3    Layered Products

Layered products documentation consists of books and other documents that aid in the use of separately licensed products, such as TruClusterTM and Compaq C++. For more information, see Section 1.6.

1.2    Changes to the Version 5.1A Documentation Set

This section describes changes to the ways you can access documentation and lists the documentation that was revised, removed, or offered for the first time in this release. Clicking on the a book's title will take you to the section where it is described.

1.2.1    Structural Changes

With this release of Tru64 UNIX, the Compaq TruCluster Server documentation is included on the Tru64 UNIX Documentation CD-ROM, as well as on the Associated Products Volume 2 CD-ROM. The books are described in Chapter 2, Chapter 3, and Chapter 4. See Section A.1.2 for a list of the books and Section 1.6.1 for information about the TruCluster Server software.

This release also introduces a new search function that will help you find specific Tru64 UNIX and TruCluster Server topics in any document on the documentation Web site or on a local area network. See Section 1.4 for more information.

1.2.2    Revised Documentation

The following core and supplementary documentation was revised in this release. The changes were made to the printed books and their online versions, unless otherwise noted.

In some cases, the documents were revised to provide information about new and changed features to the operating system. In other cases, the revisions expand or otherwise improve existing information.

Although the TruCluster Server manuals were previously available, this release marks the first time they are included on the Tru64 UNIX Documentation CD-ROM. All of the cluster manuals have been revised.

General User Documentation

System and Network Administration

Programming Documentation

1.2.3    New Documentation

The following documentation is new with this release:

1.2.4    Removed Documentation

The Compaq Portable Mathematics Library manual has been removed from the Tru64 UNIX documentation set. It is still available on the Web in the documentation sets of previous releases of the operating system.

1.2.5    Device Driver Documentation

Chapter 7 now describes the documentation provided with Version 2 of the Device Driver Kit.

1.3    What You Get

The documentation that you receive from Compaq depends upon the purchase you make:

1.4    Online Documentation

The documentation for the Tru64 UNIX operating system, including the reference pages, is available on the Tru64 UNIX Documentation CD-ROM in formats that are readable with a Web browser or with the Adobe Acrobat Reader.

This documentation, as well as documentation for associated applications, is also available on the World Wide Web (see Section 1.4.2). Most of the features that are available on the Documentation CD-ROM, such as the links to other documentation, are also available on the Web.

If you are working on a Compaq AlphaTM system, the operating system provides a Netscape browser for viewing the HTML documentation. If you want to view the documentation on a Windows PC or Macintosh, you will need a browser that supports frames and JavaScript Version 1.1, such as Version 4.0 or higher of Netscape Navigator, Netscape Communicator, or Microsoft Internet Explorer.

To view the PDF files, you need to install Version 3.0 or higher of the Adobe Acrobat Reader or the Reader plug-in to your Web browser. The Documentation CD-ROM provides the Acrobat Reader for Tru64 UNIX systems, Windows PCs, Macintosh, and several other platforms. You can also obtain the latest version directly from the Adobe Systems Inc. Web site:

http://www.adobe.com

With Acrobat Reader, you can scroll through books, print selected sections or entire books, and copy sections to the clipboard.

The Version 5.1A release offers a new full-text search facility, called isearch, for finding information in Tru64 UNIX documentation on the Web and on local area networks, using any platform, including UNIX workstations, Macintosh computers, and PCs:

1.4.1    The Documentation CD-ROM

The Documentation CD-ROM contains HTML and PDF versions of Tru64 UNIX documents. The complete set of operating system reference pages is available in HTML format. The CD-ROM provides links to these HTML and PDF documents.

You can use the Tru64 UNIX Documentation CD-ROM on a Tru64 UNIX system, as well as on a Windows PC or Macintosh -- laptop or workstation -- or on any other system that uses the ISO 9660 Level 1 CD-ROM standard.

In addition to the isearch facility described in Section 1.4, the Documentation CD-ROM contains a copy of the AltaVista Search CD-ROM software with a complete index of the HTML documents. The AltaVista software runs on an x86-based PC with Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, or Windows NT Version 4.0.

The CD-ROM's online Documentation Library is arranged in categories that generally follow the structure of the printed documentation kits. Each category is represented by a bulleted list, with the bullet for each book colored to indicate the documentation subkit to which the book belongs:

Books that meet the needs of different audiences appear in several categories. For example, you will find the Security manual in the General User, Programming, and System and Network Management categories because it serves each of those audiences. Because it is part of the General User subkit, its bullet is blue in all of the categories in which it appears.

Most cross-references are hot links, so you can follow those references from book to book, from book to reference page, from reference page to book, and from reference page to reference page.

Each book you refer to opens in a separate window so you can easily move from book to book as you gather the information you need. When following links to reference pages, the first reference page opens in a new window, and references to subsequent reference pages will appear in the same reference page window as long as you keep it on your screen.

The Documentation CD-ROM also contains the webman viewer, a program you can use with your browser to view reference pages. For information about the webman viewer, see Chapter 6.

To mount the Documentation CD-ROM on Tru64 UNIX systems, PCs, and Macintosh computers, see the information accompanying the Documentation CD-ROM. The Tru64 UNIX Installation Guide provides an overview of using CD-ROMs on Tru64 UNIX systems.

1.4.2    Documentation on the World Wide Web

You can find most of the Tru64 UNIX core and supplementary documentation, the reference pages, and other useful documentation on the World Wide Web. To view this documentation, point your browser to the following Web site:

http://www.tru64unix.compaq.com/docs

Other documentation you will find there includes the following:

The Web site also provides updates to documentation between formal product releases. For example, Compaq maintains online Technical Updates, which provide information about restrictions and problems that have been discovered with specific versions since their release. Visit the following Web site to see the Technical Update for Version 5.1A:

http://www.tru64unix.compaq.com/docs/pub_page/update_list.html

We recommend that you view this site periodically to see if any new information has been added.

1.5    Printed Documentation

When you purchase a Tru64 UNIX media kit, you receive printed versions of various manuals to help you install and begin using the operating system. To receive printed versions of the rest of the core documentation, you must order a Tru64 UNIX Documentation Kit (Figure 1-1) or one or more of its subkits. See the file named How to Order Tru64 UNIX Documentation on the Tru64 UNIX Documentation Library for information about the part numbers for these kits.

Figure 1-1:  Structure of the Tru64 UNIX Documentation Kit

The printed manuals include a letter icon on the spine to help you quickly find the book you are looking for. The following icons are used:

G Indicates books that are for general users
S Indicates books that are for system and network administrators
P Indicates books that are for programmers

Although a book's primary audience determines the documentation kit it is packaged in, some books help meet the needs of several audiences. For example, a general user can read the Programming Support Tools manual (packaged in the Developer's Documentation Kit) to get advanced information about using commands such as grep or awk. The Security manual (packaged in the General User Documentation Kit) provides information for system administrators and programmers, as well as for general users. Keep this in mind when searching for information on specific topics.

The following sections describe the kits that comprise the Tru64 UNIX Documentation Kit and the documentation that each kit contains. This documentation is also provided on line, except where indicated.

1.5.1    End User Documentation Kit

The End User Documentation Kit contains all the information needed to install, use, and administer the Tru64 UNIX system. This kit is divided into three subkits as follows:

1.5.2    Developer's Documentation Kit

The Developer's Documentation Kit is for software developers who write programs on or for the Tru64 UNIX operating system. The books in this kit include information on tools and programming recommendations.

This kit contains the following documentation:

Assembly Language Programmer's Guide
Asynchronous Transfer Mode
Calling Standard for Alpha Systems
Compaq C Language Reference Manual
Guide to the POSIX Threads Library
Guide to Preparing Product Kits
Guide to Realtime Programming
Network Programmer's Guide
OSF/Motif Programmer's Guide (printed only)
OSF/Motif Style Guide (printed only)
Programmer's Guide
Programmer's Guide: STREAMS (printed only)
Programming Support Tools
Programming with ONC RPC
Writing Kernel Modules
Writing Software for the International Market
 

1.5.3    Additional Documentation in the Media Kit

The following documentation is packaged in the Tru64 UNIX media kit, but is not included in any of the orderable Tru64 UNIX documentation kits:

How to Access Tru64 UNIX Documentation
Cluster Technical Overview
 

1.6    Documentation for Layered Products

Compaq and third-party vendors produce many applications that run on Tru64 UNIX systems. The documentation for most of these products is included with the individual application software. The following sections provide some guidance.

1.6.1    TruCluster Server Software

TruCluster Server is a separately licensed product that ships on the Associated Products CD-ROM Volume 2. It is a highly integrated synthesis of Tru64 UNIX software, Compaq AlphaServerTM systems, and storage devices that operate as a single system.

The TruCluster Server documentation is included on the Tru64 UNIX documentation CD-ROM, as well as with the software on the Associated Products CD-ROM Volume 2 and in printed form in a separately orderable documentation kit (see Section A.1.2 for more information).

1.6.2    Other Products Packaged with Tru64 UNIX

The CD-ROMs in the Tru64 UNIX media kit include the software and documentation for several separately licensed products. You do not need a license to view this documentation, which in most cases is provided in both HTML and PDF (or PostScript) formats.

In addition to the previously mentioned TruCluster Server software, the following separately licensed products are among those included with the kit:

See the Tru64 UNIX Version 5.1A CD-ROMs sheet packaged with the Tru64 UNIX media for a complete list and the location of the layered products included with Tru64 UNIX. See Section 5.3 for information about the Tru64 UNIX Associated Products CD-ROMs.

1.6.3    Tru64 UNIX Alpha Online Documentation Library

Many of the layered products produced by Compaq, such as Compaq's C++ product and the Distributed Computing Environment (DCE), are included on the Tru64 UNIX Alpha Software Product Library, a collection of CD-ROMs in a kit that is updated every three months. The documentation for these products is included on the companion Tru64 UNIX Alpha Online Documentation Library CD-ROM. These software and documentation kits are separately orderable products; they are not included with the Tru64 UNIX media kit. For information about ordering these kits, contact your Compaq sales representative.

1.6.4    Device Driver Documentation

Documentation for programmers who create device driver software for the Tru64 UNIX operating system is available as a separately orderable kit. See Chapter 7 for more information about the Device Driver Documentation Kit.