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Using the docs.sun.com Web Site

Chapter 1 What's New on the docs.sun.com Web Site

The services on the docs.sun.comSM Web site are enhanced in Version 3.0.

Here is a list of the information in this chapter:

What Is docs.sun.com, Version 3.0?

While Version 3 of the docs.sun.com Web site looks very much like the old version, it is an entirely new system. The site is now written entirely in the JavaTM programming language, implemented on top of Oracle® software, and runs under the SunTM Open Net Environment (Sun ONE) Web server.

Most of the documentation on this site was authored in SGML and translated into XML for publication. Some of it, though, is in HTML and some in the book type PDF-only. To the extent possible, the docs.sun.com site treats HTML and PDF-only books as peers of XML-based books, but a number of functions are only possible for XML-based documentation.

Although much has been improved, the docs.sun.com Web site remains an online library system that publishes books and collections of books. Its search and browse systems are, accordingly, book and not file oriented.

Major Changes in docs.sun.com, Version 3

Simplified Search Syntax

The “and” and “or” operators are no longer needed. If a search contains more than one term, a proximity search is performed. You can now append the wildcard operator (*) to search terms. Thus, a search for file* matches “file” and “files.”

Also note that documents are weighted more heavily if they contain search terms in chapter, section, or other titles.

Search Results and Bread Crumbs

Searches performed from within the subject or product trees now include a “bread crumb” style locator at the top of the page to make navigation easier.

Searching by Part Number

Part numbers are now indexed. There is no functionality in the user interface that explicitly supports part number searching. You simply type part numbers as you do any other search terms.

Simplified, Stable URLs

URLs are now as short and as human-comprehensible as possible. Also, the URLs for book and collection home pages (tables of contents) and the URLs listed under collections and the Subject Categories, Titles, and Product Categories tabbed links are now guaranteed to remain stable. Examples of stable URLs are:

As long as you do not link to a point down inside a book (which can always be updated in place), your links and bookmarks are safe.

If you are a technical writer or web master, this stability enables you to include links to Sun product documentation in your documents and web pages.

Two Protected Modes

The docs.sun.com Web site now supports both Beta (password protected) and Early Access documentation. To see Early Access documentation, you must affirm that you have read the disclaimer before you are allowed to access this documentation.

New Man Page Table of Contents

The Table of Contents architecture for man page books now contains a table of contents entry for each man page section, which in turn leads to an alphabetical list of man pages.

Internationalization

If you select Japanese, Chinese, or Simplified Chinese, you no longer need to specify an encoding.

New Functionality for XML-Based Books

This section describes the new functionality that is available if you access XML-based books on the docs.sun.com Web site.

Searching Within Books and Collections

Global searches and scoped global searches (that is, searches you initiate by using the Within pull-down menu) treat all book types as peers. However, you can only search within XML-based books. You can not search within HTML documents or PDF-only books.

Browsing Within Books and Collections

An efficient, automatically generated browsing interface is also available for XML-based books and collections. This interface is more sophisticated than the navigation interface that is available in HTML or PDF-only books and collections, as this interface is integrated with the local search. To try this browsing interface, search locally within an XML-based book or collection, and then leave the search active while browsing around the table of contents for the book or collection.

TTY-Only Mode and Support

XML-based documentation is now available for viewing on simple TTY-only terminals. XML-based books are formatted for display by runtime style sheets. A second set of TTY-only style sheets are available that format structured pages for use when a graphical web browser is not available. To use this new feature, you must run Lynx or another TTY-only browser. Native HTML also works in this context, but not as well, because the style sheets that are used by the docs.sun.com site generate HTML that is optimized for use on a TTY-only browser.

This new feature enables back office system administrators to access the docs.sun.com site whether or not they have access to systems.

Online Book Indexes

XML-based books now contain automatically generated, hypertext-based, back-of-the-book indexes.