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 HP.

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:

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 HP 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 release notes for some components of the Tru64 UNIX operating system, and industry reference material and white papers that come from HP 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 TruCluster and Compaq C++. For more information, see Section 1.6.

1.2    Changes to the Version 5.1B Documentation Set

This section 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.

Most books in the documentation set include a section in their prefaces, named New and Changed Features, which describes the changes made to the books for the current release.

1.2.1    New Documentation

The following documentation is new with this release:

1.2.2    Removed Documentation

The following documentation is no longer provided.

1.2.3    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.

General User Documentation

System and Network Administration

Programming Documentation

TruCluster Server Software Documentation

Web-Only Documentation

1.3    What You Get

The documentation that you receive from HP 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 an HP Alpha 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 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.

On the Web and on local area networks you can use a full-text search facility, called isearch, to find information in Tru64 UNIX documentation. The search works in many computing environments, including UNIX workstations, Macintosh computers, and PCs:

When viewing the Technical References, set your browser to a Unicode character set. See Section 4.3.12

1.4.1    The Documentation CD-ROM

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

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 x86-based PCs running any Windows operating systems from Windows 95 on up.

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 Release Notes in the General User, Programming, and System and Network Management categories because this document 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. Additionally, several documents included with the Tru64 UNIX operating system documentation set are provided only on the Web. The following books fall into this category:

To view the Tru64 UNIX documentation, go to the following Web site:

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

In addition to the Tru64 UNIX operating system documentation, you will also find the following:

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 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
Programmer's Guide
Programmer's Guide: STREAMS
Programming Support Tools
Programming with ONC RPC
Security Programming
Writing Kernel Modules
Writing Software for the International Market
 

1.6    Documentation for Layered Products

HP 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, HP AlphaServer 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 5.1B 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 HP, such as its 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 HP 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.