Re: 02/04: doc: Update README to refer to the manual.

[Ludovic Courtès]

Hello!  :-)

Jan Nieuwenhuizen <janneke@gnu.org> skribis:

>> commit c75a80189fc19f6ff8b4c82d1d1801be6763b6d2
>> Author: Ludovic Courtès <ludo@gnu.org>
>> AuthorDate: Tue Jun 2 14:50:54 2020 +0200
>>
>>     doc: Update README to refer to the manual.
>>
>>     * README (Requirements): Refer to the manual.
>>     (Installation): Update URL of the manual.
>
> Hmm, I don't like it!  Also, no rationale.

Someone reported that the list of dependencies (the Guile version in
particular) in ‘README’ was outdated.  I set out to update it and then
realized that that info was already available and up-to-date in the
manual.  Hence this patch.

>> +or by checking the 
>> [[https://guix.gnu.org/manual/en/html_node/Installation.html][web copy of 
>> the manual]].
>>  
>>  For information on installation from a Git checkout, please see the section
>>  "Building from Git" in the manual.
>
> ...but as a new potential user of a software I have often cursed the
> makers for providing "empty" READMEs that refer to documentation that is
> neither built (yet) or shipped, or needs a viewer/web browser; making it
> most convenient for them, the writers, and not for me, the reader;
> leaving me puzzled ... "So, you'd rather not have me use your software?"
>
> I'm wondering if you haven't had that experience, and how you look at
> this...

Sure.  Two things:

  1. People installing a release from a tarball have doc/guix.info
     already built.

  2. The ‘README’ also gives the URL of the on-line copy of the manual.

So I think the information is readily available.

My goal here was just to avoid having an outdated copy of parts of the
manual.

I hope that makes sense!

Ludo’.