System Documentation

This page (Figure 5-5) provides access to the extensive help that is available on most UNIX systems through man pages, in addition to the Webmin help files, installed package documentation files, Perl module documentation, as well as results from the Google search engine.

Figure 5-5: System documentation

System Documentation Search

Using the module is as simple as entering a search term and clicking Search. If you choose to Match any in your search, the module will return a list of all pages that it can find that match your query. You may specify which types of documentation you'd like to search, including man pages, Webmin help files, documentation for installed packages, Perl module documentation, and The Book of Webmin either locally or remotely. It will also provide a simple gateway to a Google search.

Man pages are divided into numbered sections, in order to clearly distinguish programming documentation from user command documentation, and the like. When performing a search of the man pages, you will likely see multiple results matching your search term. In some cases, there will be more than one entry precisely matching the command or term you're looking for, in different manual sections. The sections are roughly divided as described below:

• User commands that may be run by all users:

• System calls, or functions provided by the kernel.

• Library Functions.

• Devices or special files in the /dev directory.

• File format descriptions, for such files as /etc/passwd and Sendmail's /etc/ aliases file.

• Games.

• Miscellaneous, macro packages, and conventions. Examples include bootparam and unicode.

• System administration tools that only root can execute. Examples include ifconfig and halt.

• OS Specific kernel routine documentation. Not always available on all systems.

Also available on some systems are a few lettered sections. They are: n for New documentation, which may be moved in the future to a new location, o for Old documentation, which will likely be phased out, and l for Local documentation specific to this particular system.

Searching Documentation from Another Module

This page also provides the configuration for searching from within the other modules. In most Webmin modules, there will be a Search docs link in the upper right corner of the page. When clicked, Webmin will search all of the available documentation that has been selected and present links and short excerpts from the documents. If your system will be disconnected from the Internet, you may wish to disable Google searches. Likewise, if you do not want package documentation or similar types of documentation to be searched you may unselect them here.

Tip 

In recent versions of Webmin, it is possible to search the contents of this book, if the corresponding module is installed. To obtain the Webmin module for this book, visit the Projects [http://www.swelltech.com/projects] page at Swell Technology for downloads in .wbm and .rpm packages. It is not included in the base Webmin package, due to its large size.