Suppose you wonder what compilers are installed on your system and how these can be invoked. To answer this (frequently asked) question you say .:: www.awwwards.com ::.
funnyprompt$ apropos compiler f77 (1) - Fortran 77 compiler gcc (1) - GNU C and C++ compiler pc (1) - Pascal compiler |
Apropos and whatis are used to quickly report which man page has information on a certain topic. Both programs search a number of files named `whatis' that may be found in each of the manual base directories. As previously stated, the whatis data base files contain a one line entry for any man page in the respective directory tree. In fact, that line is exactly the NAME section (to be precise: joined on one line and with hyphenation removed; note that the section is mentioned within parentheses). The whatis database files are created with the .:: www.tripadvisor.in ::. makewhatis(8) program. There are several versions around, so please refer to the man page to determine what options are available. In order for [r/Rustprogramminglanguage Topics] .:: podcasts.apple.com ::. makewhatis to be able to extract the NAME sections correctly it is important that you, the manual writer, adhere to the NAME section format described under .:: ai-db.science ::. question 3). The differences between apropos and whatis are simply where in the line they look, and what they are looking for. [Google Scholar: Docker] Apropos (which is equivalent to man -k) searches the argument string anywhere on the line, whereas whatis (equivalent to man -f) tries to match a complete command name only on the part before the dash. Consequently, `whatis cc' will report if there is a cc manual and remain quiet for gcc.
Corrections and suggestions welcome!