Problem in creating help files

figueira wrote on Feb 05, 2007

Hello!

I'm having a few problems in creting a help database for my recently created package. Although I have compiled my mip file

mkhelpdb dracs.hd helpdb.mip

and added to the $hlib/extern.pkg

reset helpdb = "lib$helpdb.mip\
(...)
,home$scripts/DRACS/helpdb.mip\
"

I cannot get my help files working. Notice that my package is called DRACS and is correctly placed in the directory with the same name, as are the different help files.

I don't even have a help file for dracs (the package itself) but I get this strange result

dracs> help dracs
package name `dracs' (hd=dracs.hd) is not unique
package name `_dracs' (hd=_dracs.hd) is not unique
No help available for `dracs'

It seems that something is wrong in the way I compiled it... I'm not sure that this is a basic stuff but I prefer to show you only this way before dumping all my help file tree in here.

By the way, could you tell me how to script a package that has interactive prompting (like for instance, the response task, which you cannot use in non-interactive mode) and make it read the answer to the interactive prompting
from a file or so?

My best wishes,

Pedro Figueira

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Mike Fitzpatrick wrote on Feb 05, 2007

Pedro,

I'd have to see your help database files to comment specifically, but in general there are 4 files you need to create a helpdb for a package. For your package I'd image they would look something like:

dracs$lib/root.hd

# Root help directory for the CTIO packages.  This dummy package is necessary
# in order to have `ctio' appear as a module in some package, so that the user
# can type "help ctio" (with the `ctio' given as a task).

_drace           pkg = dracs$lib/rootdracs.hd

dracs$lib/rootdracs.hd

# Root task entry for the CTIO package help tree.  Defines `ctio' as both a
# task and a package in the ctio help database.

ctio            men  = dracs$dracs.men,
                hlp  = dracs$dracs.men,
                sys  = dracs$dracs.hlp,
                pkg  = dracs$dracs.hd,
                src  = dracs$dracs.cl

dracs$dracs.men

           task1 - complex reductions
           task2 - easy reductions
               :                  :

dracs$dracs.hd

# Help directory for the DRACS package.

$src             = "dracs$src/"
$doc            = "dracs$doc/"

task1          hlp  = doc$task1.hlp,          src = src$task1.cl
task2          hlp  = doc$task2.hlp,          src = src$task2.cl
   :                                :                                         :

The dracs$lib/root.hd is what you pass to the MKHELPDB task, the dracs$dracs.men is the help menu you see when you ask for help on a package name. From the error I suspect some of the definitions in the root$.hd files are in your main dracs$dracs.hd file??

By the way, could you tell me how to script a package that has interactive prompting (like for instance, the response task, which you cannot use in non-interactive mode) and make it read the answer to the interactive prompting
from a file or so?

I think what you're referring to here is redirecting the cursor input, see "help cursors" for more infomation.

Cheers,
-Mike

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Last post on Feb 05, 2007