<!--  PLEASE DO NOT EDIT DIRECTLY. EDIT THE .md.in FILE PLEASE. -->
<div>
<span class="quicklinks">
Quick links:
&nbsp;
<a class="quicklink" href="../reference-main-flag-list/index.html">Flags</a>
&nbsp;
<a class="quicklink" href="../reference-verbs/index.html">Verbs</a>
&nbsp;
<a class="quicklink" href="../reference-dsl-builtin-functions/index.html">Functions</a>
&nbsp;
<a class="quicklink" href="../glossary/index.html">Glossary</a>
&nbsp;
<a class="quicklink" href="../release-docs/index.html">Release docs</a>
</span>
</div>
# Structure of these documents

The goal is _multiple levels of detail_.

* The [Introduction page](index.md) is the shortest: headlines and **essential summary**.
* The _Getting started_ section is for **new or near-new users** who want some simple examples along with a connecting narrative. The goal is to get a new user up and running, enabling them to perform interesting tasks with their own data.
* The _Miller in more detail_ section is just-past-introductory, **tell-me-more material** about some of the things that make Miller unique: what file formats it handles (and how it handles them), how it relates to other tools in the Unix toolkit, and so on.
* The _FAQs and examples_ section is non-introductory for people looking for various ways to do things by example. The discussion is pragmatic rather than theoretical, and **use-case-driven**.
* The _Background_ section is some **non-essential historical** and meta material on why Miller was created.
* The _Reference_ section aims to answer all questions that the previous sections didn't. The discussion is **concept-driven**, although it includes numerous examples throughout for concreteness.
    * The main reference carefully examines various aspects of Miller, concept by concept.
    * The _DSL reference_ focuses on the [Miller programming language](miller-programming-language.md), again following a concept-at-a-time approach.
    * The _miscellaneous reference_ is aptly named, with things like build-from-source notes.
    * _Documents for previous releases_ is not only for historical curiosity -- experience has shown that various Linux/BSD distros update their Miller versions on their own cadences, so the version on your system (as shown by `mlr --version`) might be best served by its respective documentation version.
* Lastly, new with the Miller 6 documents is an easy-to-access **Search field** at the top of each page.
