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Help Files

The issue of SUBLIB help files has not yet been fully resolved. At the time of this writing, the tentative plan is to deliver both program and subroutine help in HTML (HyperText Markup Language) form, which is used by the WWW (World Wide Web) and the Mosaic browser. The Mosaic document browser will then be the primary way for a user or programmer to access help. See the memo MIPS Use of Mosaic for Documentation by Peter Shames, IOM SE/PMBS-93.039, 21 Oct 1993, for details on this plan and HTML, WWW, and Mosaic.

However, there are many details to be worked out before this plan is implemented. The primary hurdle is to write converters from HTML to the other help formats, namely VMS help, TAE PDF, and Unix man formats, which are still required to be supported. For this reason, and others, the use of HTML for help is still TBD.

In the meantime, simply put VMS-specific subroutine help in the ``other'' category in the application packer. Help for programs or procedures goes in the PDF, as before.

rgd059@ipl.jpl.nasa.gov