[Date Index] [Thread Index] [Author Index]

Re: Re: Package Help in Mathematica 6

• To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
• Subject: [mg76033] Re: [mg75971] Re: Package Help in Mathematica 6
• From: DrMajorBob <drmajorbob at bigfoot.com>
• Date: Tue, 15 May 2007 04:50:31 -0400 (EDT)
• References: <29040730.1179134897651.JavaMail.root@m35>
• Reply-to: drmajorbob at bigfoot.com

I was a vociferous critic of the OLD system, because it had no search  
capability. For example, "vector" wasn't a keyword for the vector calculus  
package documentation (as I recall), so you couldn't find it unless you  
already knew where to find it. And there were millions of other examples.

Someone came up with a way to search the online documentation, and that  
seems to have evolved into the new Help system.

There are frustrations with the new scheme, but I suspect they'll be  
worked out.

Bobby

On Mon, 14 May 2007 02:40:55 -0500, Dana DeLouis <dana.del at gmail.com>  
wrote:

>> C:\Program Files\Wolfram Research\
>>   Mathematica\6.0\Documentation\English\Packages
>
> I find the new "help" system worthless.  It is sad, but in Windows  
> Explorer,
> I have been searching around here for stuff to read.
> There is a folder called "Compatibility" that talks about some of the
> packages, and their changes.  Even here, the help files are not very
> helpful.
> I have no idea what Wolfram was thinking when they came up with this
> terrible Help system.
>
> For example, I am interested in Combinatorica.  A new user would have no
> idea what that was.  Earlier, I was trying to figure out which of two
> Combinatorica.m packages is which.
> There are two:
> LegacyPackages\DiscreteMath
> &
> Packages\Combinatorica
> I noticed that the code in the second one above, the logic bug for
> "CostOfPath" was fixed.  It will now work correctly with Directed or
> Undirected graphs.  But, this is a hard way to do it.
>
> This help system is not designed well for such a large system.  It needs  
> to
> be broken down into sections that are more readable.  My hand is sore  
> from
> all the clicking.  For each item, you have to click "more about., scope,
> properties, issues.etc.
> Absolutely terrible!!



-- 
DrMajorBob at bigfoot.com