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Suggestion about how to improve sha512sum documentation
From: |
David Loyall |
Subject: |
Suggestion about how to improve sha512sum documentation |
Date: |
Thu, 15 Jun 2023 16:37:36 -0500 |
Hello.
Today the correct canonical link to the HTML form of the documentation
for sha512sum is this:
https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/html_node/md5sum-invocation.html
Note "md5sum" in the URL and in the document.
Here is the explanation:
https://www.gnu.org/software/coreutils/manual/html_node/sha2-utilities.html
I think the situation should change somehow. Off the top of my head:
what if you just flip it around so that the md5sum documentation
points at the sha2 utilities, instead of the other way around?
Here is why I considered this important enough to mention: at least
one major organization is currently giving bad advice about the sha2
family of utilities.. See
https://www.apache.org/info/verification.html#CheckingHashes and note
the absence of advice about using the `--check` argument. The
`--check` argument is important.
Background: I started writing to a smaller organization suggesting
they add `--check` to their documentation and during the process I
discovered a) the larger organization also got it wrong and b) I can't
provide a direct link to clear documentation from the canonical
source.
A generation or two of folks have been taught to avoid anything that
says md5 on it...
Thank you for your time and of course for this collection of utilities
of immeasurable importance.
Cheers,
--sebboh
- Suggestion about how to improve sha512sum documentation,
David Loyall <=