What functionality is provided by minimal install

[Greg Barniskis]

Giorgos Keramidas wrote:
> On 2006-01-31 14:56, Eric Schultz <eric at schultznet.ca> wrote:
>> Giorgos Keramidas wrote:
>>> On 2006-01-30 13:42, Eric Schultz <eric at schultznet.ca> wrote:
>>>> sysintall help that a Minimal install is "just the base
>>>> system."  But what _functionality_ is provided by a *base
>>>> system*???
>>> A short `overview' of a sort can be seen with:
>>>
>>>         # man 5 rc.conf
>>>
>>> For every daemon, service, or option that you see in that
>>> manpage, there is also a feature of the base system.
>> Good afternoon...
>>
>> That's a very interesting idea.  I guess that would cover (excuse my
>> un-certainty with the terminology here) the /kernel/ but not the
>> /userland/.  For the /userland/ i assume I would still have to man
>> every executable - and then some - that I find?
> 
> No, many parts of the userland are configured by `rc.conf' options too.
> 
> Of course, an exchaustive list of all the binaries in */bin paths is,
> uhm, a huge task.  But you can also get an idea by:
> 
>         $ apropos . | more

Also, the book _The Complete FreeBSD_ has many (all?) of the base 
man pages arranged in a convenient bound printed format. My copy is 
quite few years old though, and I really don't know how current or 
complete the most recent edition may be.

The man pages are also available online in a very, very convenient 
hyperlinked format so you can explore the relatedness of various 
pieces with ease.  http://www.freebsd.org/docs/man.html

You may find the man section indexes online to be the most useful 
for the task of enumerating all functionality.

-- 
Greg Barniskis, Computer Systems Integrator
South Central Library System (SCLS)
Library Interchange Network (LINK)
<gregb at scls.lib.wi.us>, (608) 266-6348