Re^2: Always be learning - how a leaky pipe made me appreciate Open Source

It's interesting to just wander through the aisles and look at "what's available to do a certain job"

And that's what trolling through the man page and/or documentation is like .. instead of asking 'How can I do X?', why not ask 'What functions and features are available?' and go with that.

Alex / talexb / Toronto

"Groklaw is the open-source mentality applied to legal research" ~ Linus Torvalds

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Re^3: Always be learning - how a leaky pipe made me appreciate Open Source by zentara (Cardinal) on Feb 07, 2006 at 13:29 UTC
To extend the analogy, perlmonks is like the staff at Home Depot. You can read the little "how-to" pamphlet, or the instruction manual for the cool new whiz-bang tool ( the man pages and perldocs), but sometimes you need a real person showing you how it is done, or pointing you to which of the various tools is best for your purpose. They know because they have seen it before, so you get the benefit of their experience. By the way, the secret to foolproof copper soldering, is always sand the copper surfaces, before applying the acid flux. Now most manuals will say "make sure the copper is clean", but it takes an experienced plumber to say sand them. Just like here on perlmonks, there are certains usages that only come from the accumulated experience of the monks, which isn't in the docs. I'm not really a human, but I play one on earth. flash japh	[reply]
Re^4: Always be learning - how a leaky pipe made me appreciate Open Source (OT) Sandpaper by Anonymous Monk on Feb 07, 2006 at 16:23 UTC
By the way, the secret to foolproof copper soldering, is always sand the copper surfaces, before applying the acid flux. Now most manuals will say "make sure the copper is clean", but it takes an experienced plumber to say sand them. With what grade sandpaper? Are we talking 220 or 80? It makes a difference! :-)	[reply]
Re^5: Always be learning - how a leaky pipe made me appreciate Open Source (OT) Sandpaper by zentara (Cardinal) on Feb 07, 2006 at 16:34 UTC
Fine cloth-backed sandpaper is best, cut into 2"x4" rectangles. Get the inside of fittings too. Of course if you are lost on a desert island, some beach sand and spit in a hanky will work. :-) I'm not really a human, but I play one on earth. flash japh	[reply]