Sat 2004-06-12 16:32, Bob Lawrence (3:712/610.12) wrote to All:

 BL>  Samba itself works okay - but the documentation! There are 150+
 BL> pages describing the twenty-line configuration file! And that's just
 BL> the manual entry. There are hundreds of other pages of description,
 BL> all obviously written by someone else, (many someone elses). I
 BL> didn't bother to count the *actual* commands, but most of them are
 BL> duplicated ten times. Create mode = create mask = etc = god only knows
 BL> how it's supposed to work.

On my FreeBSD (not Linux) machine, Samba create masks are documented at

file:///usr/local/share/doc/samba/htmldocs/smb.conf.5.html#CREATEMODE

... but you shouldn't need to concern yourself with them.

 BL>  It's *really* sad. Here is a guy who can write soemthing that works,
 BL> but he can't describe it. He is totally out of touch with this world.

This is quite common.  Most programmers can't write good documentation. 
That's probably one advantage Microsoft has over the open source people,
because communication between programmers and documentation writers is (in
theory) better due to the likelihood of them working together face-to-face
during meetings, etc, although to a great degree that can be virtualised on
the Internet with the right tools.

Also, keep in mind part of the complexity of Samba is due to the design of
the SMB protocol (a Microsoft invention that was essentially reverse
engineered by the Samba people) and that certain compromises have to be
made to have it cooperate within the UNIX mindset (which is not to say that
all aspects of the UNIX mindset are better - just different).

 BL> It needs a different skill, to approach Samba as a complete tyro, 
 BL> to put yourself in a dickhead's shoes and see the meaningless 
 BL> words and phrases the way he does, and write them so they take on 
 BL> simplicity, and clarity. Any fuckwit can write a complex program, 
 BL> all it takes is persistence and isolation, what the average dork 
 BL> sees as genius... but it takes a *true* genius to make it simple.

That's why there are books, magazines, web pages and other useful
"alternative" resources for learning how to use this stuff.  You
really need to check them out and get involved if you want to learn new
things.

 BL>  Sadly, we seem to have lost that genius, and Linux (pronounced
 BL> Linnicks) has the least genius of all.

The only real relation Samba has to Linux is that it can run on it.  Linux
is just a kernel.  I don't run Linux here, but I do use Samba.

-- mail{at}ozzmosis.com

--- timEd/FreeBSD 1.11.b1