xref: /original-bsd/usr.bin/learn/learn/learn.1 (revision eafa6506)
1.\" Copyright (c) 1990 Regents of the University of California.
2.\" All rights reserved.  The Berkeley software License Agreement
3.\" specifies the terms and conditions for redistribution.
4.\"
5.\"     @(#)learn.1	6.5 (Berkeley) 07/24/90
6.\"
7.Dd
8.Dt LEARN 1
9.Os ATT 7th
10.Sh NAME
11.Nm learn
12.Nd computer aided instruction about UNIX
13.Sh SYNOPSIS
14.Nm learn
15.Oo
16.Op Fl Ar directory
17.Oo
18.Ob Ar subject
19.Op Ar lesson
20.Oe
21.Sh DESCRIPTION
22.Nm Learn
23gives Computer Aided Instruction courses and
24practice in the use of UNIX, the C Shell,
25and the Berkeley text editors.
26To get started simply type
27.Nm learn  .
28If you had used
29.Nm learn
30before and left your last session without completing a subject,
31the program will use information in
32.Pa $HOME/.learnrc
33to start you up
34in the same place you left off.
35Your first time through,
36.Nm learn
37will ask questions to find out what you want to do.
38Some questions may be bypassed by naming a
39.Ar subject  ,
40and more yet by naming a
41.Ar lesson  .
42You may enter the
43.Ar lesson
44as a number that
45.Nm learn
46gave you in a previous session.
47If you do not know the lesson number,
48you may enter the
49.Ar lesson
50as a word, and
51.Nm learn
52will look for the first lesson containing it.
53If the
54.Ar lesson
55is
56.Sq Fl ,
57.Nm learn
58prompts for each lesson;
59this is useful for debugging.
60.Pp
61The
62.Sf Ar subject  \'s
63presently handled are
64.Pp
65.Ds I
66files
67editor
68vi
69morefiles
70macros
71eqn
72C
73.De
74.Pp
75There are a few special commands.
76The command `bye' terminates a
77.Nm learn
78session and `where' tells you of your progress,
79with `where\0m' telling you more.
80The command `again' re-displays the text of the lesson
81and `again\0
82.Sf Ar lesson \&'
83lets you review
84.Ar lesson  .
85There is no way for
86.Nm learn
87to tell you the answers it expects in English, however,
88the command `hint' prints the last part of the lesson script
89used to evaluate a response, while `hint m' prints the
90whole lesson script.
91This is useful for debugging
92lessons and might possibly give you an idea about what it expects.
93.Pp
94Normally, lesson scripts are found in the directory /usr/lib/learn.
95The
96.Fl  directory
97option allows one to specify a nonstandard place to look for scripts.
98.Sh FILES
99.Dw /usr/libdata/learn
100.Di L
101.Dp Pa /usr/lib/learn
102subtree for all dependent directories and files
103.Dp Pa /usr/tmp/pl\(**
104playpen directories
105.Dp $HOME/.learnrc
106startup information
107.Dp
108.Sh SEE ALSO
109.Xr csh 1 ,
110.Xr ex 1
111.br
112B. W. Kernighan and M. E. Lesk,
113.Em LEARN \- Computer-Aided Instruction on UNIX
114.Sh BUGS
115The main strength of
116.Nm learn ,
117that it asks the student to use the real UNIX,
118also makes possible baffling mistakes.
119It is helpful, especially for nonprogrammers,
120to have a UNIX initiate near at hand during the first
121sessions.
122.Pp
123Occasionally lessons are incorrect, sometimes because the local version
124of a command operates in a non-standard way.
125Occasionally a lesson script does not recognize all the different
126correct responses, in which case the `hint' command may be useful.
127Such lessons may be skipped with the `skip' command,
128but it takes some sophistication to recognize the situation.
129.Pp
130To find a
131.Ar lesson
132given as a word,
133.Nm learn
134does a simple
135.Xr fgrep  1
136through the lessons.
137It is unclear whether this sort
138of subject indexing is better than none.
139.Pp
140Spawning a new shell is required for each of many
141user and internal functions.
142.Pp
143The `vi' lessons are provided separately from the others.
144To use them see your system administrator.
145.Sh HISTORY
146.Nm Learn
147appeared in Version 32 AT&T Unix.
148