Linux System Reference Manual (Man Pages)

man_pages.md

Linux System Reference Manual

Sections
1. Executable programs or shell commands
2. System calls (functions provided by the kernel)
3. Library calls (functions within program libraries)
4. Special files (usually found in /dev)
5. File formats and conventions eg /etc/passwd
6. Games
7. Miscellaneous (including macro packages and conventions), e.g. man(7), groff(7)
8. System administration commands (usually only for root)
9. Kernel routines [Non standard]

 

Common Commands/Usage

Command	Description
man man	manual page on the man command itself
man socket.7 or man 7 socket or man 'socket(7)'	look at section 7's entry for socket

 

Formatting

The following conventions apply to the SYNOPSIS section and can be used as a guide in other sections.

Text Style	Meaning
bold text	type exactly as shown.
italic text	replace with appropriate argument.
[-abc]	any or all arguments within [ ] are optional.
-a	-b
argument ...	argument is repeatable.
[expression] ...	entire expression within [ ] is repeatable.

 

Further Information

• https://stackoverflow.com/questions/36789974/what-is-the-difference-between-multiple-man-pages-of-the-same-command