You can find most of the DIGITAL UNIX documentation you need on the documentation CD-ROM that comes with the DIGITAL UNIX product and also on the World Wide Web. Most of this documentation is provided on line in HTML and PDF formats, and is available in 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.
A smaller subset of documentation is provided in specific directories of the DIGITAL UNIX operating system and on the Associated Products CD-ROMs.
This chapter can help you to quickly find the documentation you need and in the format that is most convenient to you.
Note
If you already know the books you want, you can skip to Chapter 6 to find out the order numbers and information on how to place your order.
The following list describes 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:
Core documentation consists of books that help you to use the DIGITAL UNIX operating system, including the components provided when you install all of the system's optional and mandatory subsets. Most of this documentation was created by writers who worked closely with the developers of the operating system to document the system's various components. The books that make up the core documentation are described in Chapter 2.
On line, the DIGITAL UNIX reference pages are a component of the operating system and are available in optional subsets. They are also available in printed format in a 17-volume kit. For information about the reference pages, see Chapter 4. For information about ordering the printed documentation, see Chapter 6.
Documentation to aid program developers in writing device drivers for DIGITAL UNIX, was produced by Compaq writers working closely with DIGITAL UNIX engineers. Until recently, this documentation was included in the core documentation set, but it is now available as a separate documentation kit. For information about the device driver documentation, see Chapter 5. For information about ordering the Device Driver Kit, see Chapter 6.
Supplementary documentation tends to be less formal in structure than the core documentation. This category includes many different types of documents, such as Software Product Descriptions (SPDs), release notes for some components of the DIGITAL UNIX operating system, and industry reference material and white papers that come from Compaq engineers and other sources. Much of this documentation exists in PDF or PostScript formats. For more information see Chapter 3.
Layered products documentation consists of books and other documents that aid in the use of separately licensed products, such as DEC C++ and the TruCluster Software. For more information, see Section 1.7.
With this release of the DIGITAL UNIX operating sytem, the only book in the core documentation set to change is the Release Notes for Version 4.0E. Other noteworthy changes are as follows:
Many reference pages have been updated to reflect new features and enhancements added to the operating system.
The DIGITAL UNIX reference pages are now included on the Documentation CD-ROM in HTML format, in addition to their tradtional location as subsets of the operating system.
PDF versions of the core documentation set have been added to the Documentation CD-ROM. (See Section 1.4.1 for information about viewing PDF files.)
Documentation that was offered in PostScript format on the on Supplementary bookshelf of the Documentation CD-ROM has been replaced with PDF versions.
Your ability to move between books and reference pages on the Documentation CD-ROM and on the World Wide Web has been improved. Cross-references to most books and reference pages are now hot links, which means you can go to the releated book or reference page by clicking on it. For more information, see Section 1.4.1.
Compaq now maintains an online Technical Update that contains information about restrictions and problems that have been discovered since the current DIGITAL UNIX version began shipping. To view this document on the Web, go to the following URL:
http://www.unix.digital.com/faqs/publications/updates/V40E-update.html
Compaq recommends that you visit this site periodically to see if any new information has been added.
The documentation that you receive from Compaq depends upon the purchase you make:
If you purchase a DIGITAL UNIX media kit, you receive all of the online documentation, as well as printed versions of the Startup Documentation described in Chapter 2.
If you purchase the DIGITAL UNIX Documentation Kit, you receive printed versions of the books described in Chapter 2.
If you purchase an Update Contract for the media, you receive the most current version of the Documentation CD-ROM, and a printed version of the Release Notes.
If you purchase an Update Contract for the documentation set, you receive printed versions of the books that have been updated, which for Version 4.0E is the Release Notes book.
If you purchase a system with the DIGITAL UNIX operating system preinstalled (often called a FIS system, for factory installed software), online versions of the Release Notes, Installation Guide, System Administration, Network Administration, Security, and the Documentation Overview (the book you are reading) are installed on your system.
The manuals in the core documentation set are provided in online and printed formats.
Most of the documentation for the DIGITAL UNIX operating system, including the reference pages, is available on the DIGITAL UNIX Documentation CD-ROM in a format that is readable with a Web browser. Much of this documentation is also presented in PDF format.
To read this HTML documentation using the Netscape browser included
with the DIGITAL UNIX operating system, launch the
netscape
software from the CDE Applications panel.
Then choose the documentation link
on the DIGITAL UNIX homepage.
For help using the
netscape
software, pull down the
Help menu from the
netscape
menu bar.
To view the PDF files
you need to install Version 3.0 or higher of the Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Versions
of the Acrobat Reader for DIGITAL UNIX, Windows PC, Macintosh, and other platforms
are included on the Documentation CD-ROM.
You can also obtain the latest
version directly from the Adobe Systems Inc.
Web site,
http://www.adobe.com.
With the Acrobat Reader you can scroll
through books, print selected sections or the entire book, and copy sections
to the clipboard.
The online Documentation Library is arranged into "bookshelves," which generally follow the structure of the printed documentation kits. Each bookshelf is represented by a bulleted list, with the bullet for each book colored to indicate the documentation subkit to which the book belongs:
A blue bullet indicates General User Documentation.
A purple bullet indicates Programming Documentation.
A maroon bullet indicates the System and Network Management Documentation.
A silver bullet indicates Supplementary Documentation, which is documentation that is not part of any kit and cannot be ordered from Compaq.
Books that meet the needs of different audiences appear on several bookshelves. For example, you will find the Security book on the General User, Programming, and System and Network Management bookshelves because it serves each of those audiences. Because it is part of the General User subkit, its bullet is blue in all of the bookshelves in which it appears.
With this release of the Documentation CD-ROM, most cross-references are hot links so you can now 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 up 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 refererence page opens up in a new window, and references to subsequent reference pages will open up in the same reference page window for as long as you keep it on your screen.
Much of the DIGITAL UNIX documentation is also available on the World Wide Web. For more information, see Section 1.6. The features that are available on the Documentation CD-ROM, such as the links to other documentation, are also available on the Web.
When you purchase a DIGITAL UNIX media kit, you receive printed versions of a small number of 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 DIGITAL UNIX Documentation Kit or one of its subkits, as described in Chapter 2. A small number of manuals can be individually purchased. (See Chapter 6 for information about ordering documentation.)
Figure 1-1 shows the struture of the DIGITAL UNIX Documentation Kit. A discussion of that structure follows.
End User Documentation Kit
This kit contains all the information needed to install and use the DIGITAL UNIX system. This kit is divided into three subkits as follows:
Startup Documentation Kit
This kit is primarily for the person who installs the DIGITAL UNIX operating system. It contains information on how to configure software components and some information (such as the Release Notes) needed by all DIGITAL UNIX users.
When you order the DIGITAL UNIX operating system, the books in the Startup Documentation Kit are packaged with the distribution media.
System and Network Management Documentation Kit
This kit is for people who are responsible for managing the DIGITAL UNIX operating system or network. The manuals in this kit provide information on how to configure, manage, and tune DIGITAL UNIX systems.
General User Documentation Kit
This kit provides general information on how to use the DIGITAL UNIX operating system. The manuals in this kit are for everyone who uses DIGITAL UNIX.
Developer's Documentation Kit
This kit is for software developers who write programs on or for the DIGITAL UNIX operating system. The books in this kit include information on tools and programming recommendations.
This kit is divided into the following subkits:
General Programming Documentation Kit
This kit provides information of interest to most programmers who write applications that run on the DIGITAL UNIX operating system. Manuals in this kit describe using the programming tools and interfaces.
Windows Programming Documentation Kit
This kit provides information for programmers who are creating a window interface to an application, including the Common Desktop Environment (CDE), OSF/Motif, and the X Window System.
When you order printed manuals, you will notice that the books are color coded and include an icon on the spine to help you quickly find the book you are looking for on your bookshelf. The following list describes this convention:
| Audience | Icon | Color Code |
| General users | G | Blue |
| System and network administrators | S | Red |
| Programmers | P | Purple |
Some books in the documentation set help meet the needs of several audiences.
For example, a general user might want to use the manual
Programming Support Tools
to get advanced information about using commands such as
grep
or
awk.
Also, information in some system books is also
used by programmers.
Keep this in mind when searching for information on
specific topics.
You can view the DIGITAL UNIX Documentation CD-ROM on an Alpha 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.
The CD-ROM contains HTML and PDF versions of DIGITAL UNIX documents, including its books, white papers, and the complete set of operating system reference pages. The CD-ROM's bookshelves provide links to these HTML and PDF documents. By configuring your brower's preferences, you can view these formats by clicking on the links. For example, you can configure your system to launch the Acrobat Reader when you select a document in PDF format.
This
CD-ROM also contains the
webman
viewer, with which
you can view the reference pages that are installed with the operating system.
The
webman
viewer is most useful when the Documenation
CD-ROM is not mounted, or when you need to access reference pages that
have been installed with layered applications.
For information about installing
and using
webman, see the file
/mnt-point/DOCS/HTML/webman/Installing-webman.txt
on
the Documentation CD-ROM.
To mount the Documentation CD-ROM on DIGITAL UNIX systems, PCs, and Macintosh computers, see the inside panels of the Documentation CD-ROM's jacket. The DIGITAL UNIX Installation Guide provides an overview of using compact discs on DIGITAL UNIX systems.
You can find most of the DIGITAL UNIX manuals in the core documentation, the reference pages, and other useful documentation on the World Wide Web.
To view this documentation, point your Web browser to the following URL:
http://www.unix.digital.com/faqs/publications/pub_page/pubs_page.html
There you will find documentation sets for DIGITAL UNIX versions dating back to Version 3.0. Books for the current and most recent versions are available in HTML and PDF formats. The books for earlier versions of the operating system are available only in PostScript format.
The Web site also gives you access to the DIGITAL UNIX Reference Pages, as well as to the following documentation sets:
TruCluster Software products (including those reference pages)
Advanced Server for DIGITAL UNIX
DIGITAL UNIX Device Driver documentation library
Internet Alpha Server System Software docuementation
Compaq and third-party vendors produce many applications that run on DIGITAL UNIX systems. The documentation for most of these products is included with the individual application software. The following sections provide some guidance.
The software for several separately licensed products is provided on the CD-ROM labeled Associated Products Volume 2, which is included in the DIGITAL UNIX media kit. These products include the TruCluster Software products, the Advanced File System (AdvFS) Utilities, the System V Environment, and the Advanced Server for DIGITAL UNIX.
Included with this software are online versions of the documentation for installing and using the applications. You do not need a separate software license to view this documentation, which is usually provided in both HTML and PDF (or PostScript) formats. For information about viewing this documentation, see Section 3.3.
Printed versions of the documentation on the Associated Products Volume 2 CD-ROM are included with the license when you purchase the product from Compaq.
Many of the layered applications produced by Compaq, such as DEC C++ and the Distributed Computed Environment (DCE), are included on the DIGITAL UNIX Alpha Consolidated Software Distribution CD-ROM. Documentation for these products is included on the companion Software Product Library disc. These are separately orderable products and are not included with the DIGITAL UNIX media kit. For information about ordering these CD-ROMs, contact Compaq (see Chapter 6) or talk with your Compaq sales representative.
Documentation for programmers who create device driver software for the DIGITAL UNIX operating system is available as a separately orderable kit. See Chapter 5 for more information about the Device Driver Documentation Kit.