apropos -s 1,8 cp
This command searches sections 1 and 8 for the cp command.
You can also find information like this. man 5 passwd
This displays only section 5 for passwd.
- Section # 1 : User command (executable programs or shell commands)
- Section # 2 : System calls (functions provided by the kernel)
- Section # 3 : Library calls (functions within program libraries)
- Section # 4 : Special files (usually found in /dev)
- Section # 5 : File formats and conventions eg /etc/passwd
- Section # 6 : Games
- Section # 7 : Miscellaneous (including macro packages and conventions)
- Section # 8 : System administration commands (usually only for root)
- Section # 9 : Kernel routines [Non standard]
pinfo '(coreutils) ls invocation'
A third source of information consists of files that are sometimes copied to the /usr/share/doc directory.