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tweak wording

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Joseph Montanaro 2024-07-08 05:39:23 -04:00
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src/routes/_posts/ssh-key-formats.svx
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@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ Both PKCS#1 and PKCS#8 use the same method for encoding the actual key data (whi
So, I thought, I can use `ssh-keygen` to convert between these various and sundry formats, right? It can do that, it _has_ to be able to do that, right? So, I thought, I can use `ssh-keygen` to convert between these various and sundry formats, right? It can do that, it _has_ to be able to do that, right?
Well, yes. It _can_, but good luck figuring that out from the manpage. For starters, like many older CLI tools, `ssh-keygen` has an awful lot of flags and options, and doesn't clearly distinguish between which are _modifiers_ - "do the same thing, but differently" - and _modes of operation_ - "do a different thing entirely". The modern way to handle this distinction is with subcommands which take entirely different sets of arguments, but `ssh-keygen` dates back to a time before that was common. Well, yes. It _can_, but good luck figuring out _how_. For starters, like many older CLI tools, `ssh-keygen` has an awful lot of flags and options, and it's hard to distinguish between which are _modifiers_ - "do the same thing, but differently" - and _modes of operation_ - "do a different thing entirely". The modern way to handle this distinction is with subcommands which take entirely different sets of arguments, but `ssh-keygen` dates back to a time before that was common.
It also dates back to a time when manpages were the primary way of communicated detailed documentation for CLI tools,<Sidenote>These days it seems more common to provide a reasonably-detailed `--help` output and then just link to web-based docs for more details.</Sidenote> which you'd _think_ would make it possible to figure out how to convert from one private key format to another, but oh-ho-ho! Not so fast, my friend. Here, feast your eyes on this: It also dates back to a time when manpages were the primary way of communicated detailed documentation for CLI tools,<Sidenote>These days it seems more common to provide a reasonably-detailed `--help` output and then just link to web-based docs for more details.</Sidenote> which you'd _think_ would make it possible to figure out how to convert from one private key format to another, but oh-ho-ho! Not so fast, my friend. Here, feast your eyes on this: