The ECN No Name Newsletter is no longer being published. This is an archived issue.

Software Directory Developing

This past summer Alex Anderson was given the simple sounding assignment of producing a short, one-page "how to" file for each of the software packages online at the ECN. All he needed to do was find the software package, learn how to use it, and then write briefly about how to call it up, what it did, and how to print output. The assignment sounded simple, but it wasn't. He first started with a copy of ECN #61, ECN Software List. Using this listing of 170+ software packages, he began his search for documentation to give him instructions on how to get the package up and running. Immediately he discovered that some of these packages are "supported", meaning the package is maintained by the ECN. Other packages fell into the catagory of "unsupported", meaning a system user has requested to have the package placed online and the user has agreed to maintain it. The supported software usually had printed or online documentation; whereas, the unsupported software ranged a wide gamut of available help. Alex spent weeks seeking, locating, and reading about the software packages loaded on the Engineering Computer Network. At the end of the summer, he found he was halfway to his goal of producing a short, simple "how to" file on all of ECN's software. The results of his summer of toil is available to assist you in getting started trying out our array of packages. Browse through the list by typing "help ecnnews" and select "DOCUMENTATION". The short packages descriptions can be found in the file "Software" .

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