Number of index entries in various books
- The Art of Computer Programming Vol. 1
- ≈1800 index entries for 650 pages. ≈2.8 entries per page.
- Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs
- ≈3330 index entries for 657 pages. ≈5.0 index entries per page.
- Programming Perl
- ≈2760 index entries for 645 pages. ≈4.3 index entries per page.
- The Visual Display of Quantitative Information
- ≈576 index entries for 197 pages. ≈2.9 entries per page.
- Nmap Network Scanning
- 560 index entries for 474 pages. ≈1.2 entries per page. ≈1.6% of text length.
Nmap Network Scanning index history
- r8522, 30 June 2008
- 560 entries.
- r8556, 1 July 2008
- 630 entries.
- r8622, 2 July 2008
- 913 entries.
- r8642, 3 July 2008
- 1087 entries.
- r8672, 5 July 2008
- 1155 entries.
- r8694, 6 July 2008
- 1126 entries.
Things that must be in the index
- Every command-line option (except deprecated or undocumented ones).
- scripting
- NSE
- Nmap Scripting Engine
- Windows, Microsoft Windows
- Solaris, Sun Solaris
- Mac OS X, Apple Mac OS X
- Linux
- Operating system detection
- OS detection
- GPL, GNU GPL, GNU General Public License
- license
- copyright
- tar pit (LaBrea tar pit)
- ACK, SYN, FIN, NULL, Xmas, Window, Mainmon scan.
- Nmap::Parser, Nmap::Scanner
- submission form
- fingerprint
- IP ID
- registry (Windows)
- debugging
- verbosity
Similar topics to be examined when indexing is done
- iptables, Netfilter
- ARIN and RIPE
- stdin, standard input and stdout, standard output
- IP protocol scan, protocol scan
- IP protocol ping, protocol ping
--osscan-guess, --fuzzy
- TCP sequence generation, TCP sequence prediction
- spoofing packets, spoofed packets, forged packets
Things that may be excessively referenced
- Ereet
- reverse DNS
-p
-PN
- Reconsider putting names like hping2 in <command/>
- If I can't figure out how to get markup in the index, at least go back and change
<literal>term</literal> to “term”.
- see: comma or "and"?
- Standardize singular/plural
Tips from the Chicago Manual of Style
- (17.1)
- Every serious book of nonfiction should have an index if it is to achieve is maximum usefulness. A good index records every pertinent statement made within the body of the text. The subject matter and pupose of the book determine which statements are pertinient and which peripheral. An index should be considerably more than an expanded, alphabetical table of contents. It should also be something other than a concordance of words and phrases.
- (17.4)
- Good subheadings, at once logical and useful to the reader, constitute one of the marks of a superior index.
- (17.5)
- ...where the keyword–the word a reader is most likely to look under–was not the first word in the phrase, the indexer has inverted the heading. Such inversion is an important consideration in the choice of good headings for an index.
- (17.9)
- Passing references are preferably either ignored or gathered under the subheading "mentioned," which is sometimes placed at the end of the whole entry.
- (17.12)
- An entry composed merely of a heading and a see reference is termed a blind entry. The indexer and anyone editing the index must make certain that no blind entry refers to another blind entry.
- (17.20)
- The ideal indexer see the book as a whole, both in scope and in arbitrary limits; understand the emphasis of the various parts and the relation to the whole; and perhaps most important of all, clearly pictures potential readers and anticipates their special needs. An indexer must make certain that every pertinent statement in the book has been indexes in such a way that the reader can easily find the information sought. A good indexer must also have sufficient knowledge of both publishing and typesetting practices to be able to present the data in acceptable editorial and typographical form.
- (17.23–17.24)
- ...surely you can get that index done over the weekend? Of course you cannot. No adequate index for a full-length book of any complexity can be–orshould be–completed over a weekend, unless the weekend includes several extra days at either end.
- (17.40)
- For each heading you choose, you should also supply a modification, a word or phrase that narrows the application of the heading.
- (17.50)
- You also have to decide whether certain entities will be treated as main entries or as subentries under a comprehensive principal heading, again with cross-references if needed in the context. One's main concern here, as everywhere in the preparation of an index, should be to make sure that every pertinent peiece of information within the book is recorded, either as principal entry or as subentry, and that the reader will be able to find it without arduous searching.
- (17.51)
- Main entries unmodified by subentries should not be followed by long rows of page numbers... A rule of thumb is to furnish at least one subentry if there are more than five references to any single heading.
- (17.62)
- Principal headings, as well as subheadings, are preferably lowercased unless they are proper nouns or proper adjectives.
- (17.65)
- If you are an inexperienced indexer, you may want some guidance on the appropriate size of the index you have undertaken to compile... For a typical scholarly book this might be (in pages) from one-fifitieth to one-twentieth the length of the text, if we assume that the index is set in two-column, run-in style, in a typeface two points smaller than the body type–all usual specifications for such an index.
- (17.134)
- (A checklist for copyediting an index.)
Notes
Use significance="preferred" for Reference Guide entries or other preferred references.
The preferred place for the indexterm element appears to be directly after the referent's appearance in the text.
Consider breaking out the subentries under "Zenmap."