How do I get `apropos' and `whatis' to work?

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# 12. How do I get `apropos' and `whatis' to work?

Suppose you wonder what compilers are installed on your system and how these can be invoked. To answer this (frequently asked) question you say

    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 `makewhatis`(8) program. There are several versions around, so please refer to the man page to determine what options are available. In order for `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 question 3). The differences between `apropos` and `whatis` are simply where in the line they look, and what they are looking for. `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!

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