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7 <TITLE>mdocml | mdoc macro compiler</TITLE>
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16 <B>mdocml</B> – mdoc macro compiler
23 <A NAME="description">DESCRIPTION</A>
27 <SPAN CLASS="nm">mdocml</SPAN> is a suite of tools compiling <Q>-<A HREF="mdoc.7.html">mdoc</A></Q>, the
28 roff macro package of choice for BSD manual pages, and <Q>-<A HREF="man.7.html">man</A></Q>, the
29 predominant historical package for UNIX manuals. The mission of <SPAN CLASS="nm">mdocml</SPAN> is to
30 deprecate <A HREF="http://www.gnu.org/software/groff/" CLASS="external">groff</A>, the GNU troff
31 implementation, for displaying -mdoc pages whilst providing token support for -man.
35 Why? groff amounts to over 5 MB of source code, most of which is C++ and all of which is GPL. It runs
36 slowly, produces uncertain output, and varies in operation from system to system. mdocml strives to fix
37 this (respectively small, C, <A CLASS="external"
38 HREF="http://www.isc.org/software/license">ISC</A>-licensed, fast and regular).
42 <SPAN CLASS="nm">mdocml</SPAN> consists of the <A HREF="mdoc.3.html">libmdoc</A>, <A
43 HREF="man.3.html">libman</A>, and <A HREF="roff.3.html">libroff</A> validating compilers; and <A
44 HREF="mandoc.1.html">mandoc</A>, which interfaces with the compiler libraries to format output for UNIX
45 terminals, XHTML, HTML, and PostScript. <SPAN CLASS="nm">mdocml</SPAN> is a <A CLASS="external"
46 HREF="http://bsd.lv/">BSD.lv</A> project.
50 <I>Disambiguation</I>: <SPAN CLASS="nm">mdocml</SPAN> is often referred to by its installed binary,
58 <A NAME="sources">SOURCES</A>
62 <SPAN CLASS="nm">mdocml</SPAN> is architecture- and system-neutral, written in plain-old C. The most
63 current version is <SPAN CLASS="attn">@VERSION@</SPAN>, dated <SPAN class="attn">@VDATE@</SPAN>. A full
64 <A HREF="ChangeLog.html">ChangeLog</A> (<A HREF="ChangeLog.txt">txt</A>) is written with each release.
71 <TABLE WIDTH="100%" SUMMARY="Current Sources">
76 <TD>Source archive</TD>
78 <A HREF="/snapshots/mdocml.tar.gz">/snapshots/mdocml.tar.gz</A>
79 (<A HREF="/snapshots/mdocml.md5">md5</A>)
83 <TD>Online source</TD>
85 <A HREF="http://mdocml.bsd.lv/cgi-bin/cvsweb/?cvsroot=mdocml">cvsweb</A>
95 <TABLE WIDTH="100%" SUMMARY="Downstream Sources">
100 <TD>DragonFly BSD</TD>
102 <A HREF="http://gitweb.dragonflybsd.org/dragonfly.git/tree/HEAD:/usr.bin/mandoc"
103 CLASS="external">usr.bin/mandoc</A>
109 <A HREF="http://www.freebsd.org/cgi/cvsweb.cgi/ports/textproc/mdocml/"
110 CLASS="external">ports/textproc/mdocml</A>
116 <A HREF="http://cvsweb.netbsd.org/bsdweb.cgi/src/external/bsd/mdocml/"
117 CLASS="external">src/external/bsd/mdocml</A>
123 <A HREF="http://www.openbsd.org/cgi-bin/cvsweb/src/usr.bin/mandoc/"
124 CLASS="external">src/usr.bin/mandoc</A>
134 <TABLE WIDTH="100%" SUMMARY="Archived Sources">
139 <TD>Source archive</TD>
141 <A HREF="/snapshots/">/snapshots/</A>
151 <A NAME="documentation">DOCUMENTATION</A>
155 These manuals are generated automatically and refer to the current snapshot.
158 <TABLE WIDTH="100%" SUMMARY="Documentation">
163 <TD VALIGN="top"><A HREF="man.3.html">man(3)</A></TD>
165 man macro compiler library
166 <SPAN STYLE="font-size: smaller;">
167 (<A HREF="man.3.txt">text</A> |
168 <A HREF="man.3.pdf">pdf</A> |
169 <A HREF="man.3.ps">postscript</A>)
174 <TD VALIGN="top"><A HREF="man.7.html">man(7)</A></TD>
176 man language reference
177 <SPAN STYLE="font-size: smaller;">
178 (<A HREF="man.7.txt">text</A> |
179 <A HREF="man.7.pdf">pdf</A> |
180 <A HREF="man.7.ps">postscript</A>)
185 <TD VALIGN="top"><A HREF="mandoc.1.html">mandoc(1)</A></TD>
187 format and display UNIX manuals
188 <SPAN STYLE="font-size: smaller;">
189 (<A HREF="mandoc.1.txt">text</A> |
190 <A HREF="mandoc.1.pdf">pdf</A> |
191 <A HREF="mandoc.1.ps">postscript</A>)
196 <TD VALIGN="top"><A HREF="mandoc_char.7.html">mandoc_char(7)</A></TD>
198 mandoc special characters
199 <SPAN STYLE="font-size: smaller;">
200 (<A HREF="mandoc_char.7.txt">text</A> |
201 <A HREF="mandoc_char.7.pdf">pdf</A> |
202 <A HREF="mandoc_char.7.ps">postscript</A>)
207 <TD VALIGN="top"><A HREF="mdoc.3.html">mdoc(3)</A></TD>
209 mdoc macro compiler library
210 <SPAN STYLE="font-size: smaller;">
211 (<A HREF="mdoc.3.txt">text</A> |
212 <A HREF="mdoc.3.pdf">pdf</A> |
213 <A HREF="mdoc.3.ps">postscript</A>)
218 <TD VALIGN="top"><A HREF="mdoc.7.html">mdoc(7)</A></TD>
220 mdoc language reference
221 <SPAN STYLE="font-size: smaller;">
222 (<A HREF="mdoc.7.txt">text</A> |
223 <A HREF="mdoc.7.pdf">pdf</A> |
224 <A HREF="mdoc.7.ps">postscript</A>)
229 <TD VALIGN="top"><A HREF="roff.3.html">roff(3)</A></TD>
231 roff macro compiler library
232 <SPAN STYLE="font-size: smaller;">
233 (<A HREF="roff.3.txt">text</A> |
234 <A HREF="roff.3.pdf">pdf</A> |
235 <A HREF="roff.3.ps">postscript</A>)
240 <TD VALIGN="top"><A HREF="roff.7.html">roff(7)</A></TD>
242 roff-mandoc language reference
243 <SPAN STYLE="font-size: smaller;">
244 (<A HREF="roff.7.txt">text</A> |
245 <A HREF="roff.7.pdf">pdf</A> |
246 <A HREF="roff.7.ps">postscript</A>)
254 See <Q><A CLASS="external" HREF="http://manpages.bsd.lv">Writing UNIX Manual Pages</A></Q> for a general
255 introduction to manpages and mdoc.
262 <A NAME="contact">CONTACT</A>
266 Please use the mailing lists for bug-reports, patches, questions, etc. Beyond that, contact
268 HREF="http://mailhide.recaptcha.net/d?k=01M6h_w7twDp58ZgH57eWC_w==&c=Q2DBUt401ePlSeupJFrq_Q=="
269 TITLE="Reveal this e-mail address">kris...</A>@bsd.lv.
273 You may also subscribe to several mailing lists (these require subscription, which is
277 <TABLE WIDTH="100%" SUMMARY="Mailing Lists">
283 disc<A CLASS="external" TITLE="Reveal this e-mail address"
284 HREF="http://www.google.com/recaptcha/mailhide/d?k=01KQ80PFH5n3BBNpF5Gs4sRg==&c=EV1QytpQqTHSItc2IXvZyocgYLPnG5K0JKw_gwMC9yc=">...</A>@mdocml.bsd.lv
287 bug-reports, general questions, and announcements
288 <SPAN STYLE="font-size: smaller;">(<A HREF="/archives/discuss">archive</A>)</SPAN>
293 tec<A CLASS="external" TITLE="Reveal this e-mail address"
294 HREF="http://www.google.com/recaptcha/mailhide/d?k=01qDX_iV0RlUOarEvb6mR28g==&c=gRXsTjza0NNCFPaYu-Taj2tF0pmYZSc90EZkFkhkxgo=">...</A>@mdocml.bsd.lv
297 patches and system discussions
298 <SPAN STYLE="font-size: smaller;">(<A HREF="/archives/tech">archive</A>)</SPAN>
303 sou<A CLASS="external" TITLE="Reveal this e-mail address"
304 HREF="http://www.google.com/recaptcha/mailhide/d?k=01prQrAZhhl2EbIwVcRfABsQ==&c=KtTW4Yic9xk-8g40KzJoca4fR3MYXv28g8NC6OQV-T8=">...</A>@mdocml.bsd.lv
307 source commit messages
308 <SPAN STYLE="font-size: smaller;">(<A HREF="/archives/source">archive</A>)</SPAN>
318 <A NAME="news">NEWS</A>
322 <SPAN CLASS="date">27-07-2010</SPAN>:
326 Primarily a bug-fix and polish release, but including <SPAN CLASS="flag">-Tpdf</SPAN>
327 support in <A HREF="mandoc.1.html">mandoc</A> by way of <A CLASS="external"
328 HREF="http://netbsd-soc.sourceforge.net/projects/mandoc_ps/">Summer of Code</A>.
332 <LI>fix <Q>Sm</Q> and <Q>Bd</Q> handling</LI>
333 <LI>fix end-of-sentence handling for embedded sentences</LI>
334 <LI>polish <A HREF="man.7.html">man</A> documentation</LI>
335 <LI>document all <A HREF="mdoc.7.html">mdoc</A> macros</LI>
336 <LI>polish <A HREF="mandoc.1.html">mandoc</A> <SPAN CLASS="flag">-Tps</SPAN> output</LI>
337 <LI>lots of internal clean-ups in character escapes</LI>
338 <LI>un-break literal contexts in <A HREF="man.7.html">man</A> documents</LI>
339 <LI>improve <SPAN CLASS="flag">-Thtml</SPAN> output for <SPAN CLASS="flag">-man</SPAN></LI>
340 <LI>add <A HREF="mandoc.1.html">mandoc</A> <SPAN CLASS="flag">-Tpdf</SPAN> support</LI>
345 <SPAN CLASS="date">12-07-2010</SPAN>:
349 Lots of features developed during both <A CLASS="external"
350 HREF="http://netbsd-soc.sourceforge.net/projects/mandoc_ps/">Summer of Code</A> and the
351 <A CLASS="external" HREF="http://www.openbsd.org">OpenBSD</A> c2k10 hackathon:
354 <LI>minimal <Q>ds</Q> <A HREF="roff.7.html">roff</A> symbols are supported</LI>
355 <LI><Q>Bk</Q> <A HREF="mdoc.7.html">mdoc</A> support</LI>
356 <LI>beautified SYNOPSIS section output</LI>
357 <LI>variable font-width and paper-size support in <A HREF="mandoc.1.html">mandoc</A>
358 <SPAN CLASS="flag">-Tps</SPAN> output</LI>
359 <LI>acceptance of scope-block breakage in <A HREF="mdoc.7.html">mdoc</A></LI>
360 <LI>clarify error message status</LI>
361 <LI>many minor bug-fixes and formatting issues resolved</LI>
366 <SPAN CLASS="date">19-06-2010</SPAN>:
370 Small release featuring text-decoration in <SPAN CLASS="flag">-Tps</SPAN> output, a few
371 minor relaxations of errors, and some optimisations.
376 <SPAN CLASS="date">07-06-2010</SPAN>:
380 This primarily focusses on the <Q>Bl</Q> and <Q>It</Q> macros described in <A
381 HREF="mdoc.7.html">mdoc</A>. Multi-line column support is now fully compatible with
382 groff, as are implicit list entries for columns. Removed manuals.7 in favour of <A
383 CLASS="external" HREF="http://manpages.bsd.lv">http://manpages.bsd.lv</A>. The way we
384 handle the SYNOPSIS section (see the SYNOPSIS documentation in <A
385 HREF="mdoc.7.html#x4d414e55414cx20x535452554354555245">MANUAL STRUCTURE</A>) has also
386 been considerably simplified compared to groff's method. Furthermore, the <SPAN
387 CLASS="flag">-Owidth=width</SPAN> output option has been added to <SPAN
388 CLASS="flag">-Tascii</SPAN> (see <A HREF="mandoc.1.html">mandoc</A>). Lastly, initial
389 PostScript output has been added with the <SPAN CLASS="flag">-Tps</SPAN> option to <A
390 HREF="mandoc.1.html">mandoc</A>. It's brutally simple at the moment: fixed-font, with
396 <SPAN CLASS="date">29-05-2010</SPAN>:
400 Release consisting of the results from the m2k10 hackathon and up-merge from OpenBSD.
401 This requires a significant note of thanks to Ingo Schwarze (OpenBSD) and Joerg
402 Sonnenberger (NetBSD) for their hard work, and again to Joerg for hosting m2k10.
403 Highlights (mostly cribbed from Ingo's m2k10 report) follow in no particular order:
406 <LI>a <A HREF="roff.3.html">libroff</A> preprocessor in front of <A
407 HREF="mdoc.3.html">libmdoc</A> and <A HREF="man.3.html">libman</A> stripping out
408 <A HREF="roff.7.html">roff</A> instructions;</LI>
409 <LI>end-of-sentence (EOS) detection in free-form and macro lines;</LI>
410 <LI>correct handling of tab-separated columnar lists in <SPAN
411 CLASS="flag">-mdoc</SPAN>;</LI>
412 <LI>improved main calling routines to optionally use mmap() for better
414 <LI>cleaned up exiting when invoked as <SPAN CLASS="flag">-Tlint</SPAN> or over
415 multiple files with <SPAN CLASS="flag">-fign-errors</SPAN>;</LI>
416 <LI>error and warning message handling re-written to be unified for <A
417 HREF="roff.3.html">libroff</A>, <A HREF="mdoc.3.html">libmdoc</A>, and <A
418 HREF="man.3.html">libman</A>;</LI>
419 <LI>handling of badly-nested explicit-scoped macros;</LI>
420 <LI>improved free-form text parsing in <A HREF="man.3.html">libman</A> and <A
421 HREF="mdoc.3.html">libmdoc</A>;</LI>
422 <LI>significant GNU troff compatibility improvements in <SPAN
423 CLASS="flag">-Tascii</SPAN>, largely in terms of spacing;</LI>
424 <LI>a regression framework for making sure the many fragilities of GNU troff
425 aren't trampled in subsequent work;</LI>
426 <LI>support for <SPAN CLASS="flag">-Tascii</SPAN> breaking at hyphens
427 encountered in free-form text;</LI>
428 <LI>and many more minor fixes and improvements (no really, consult <A
429 HREF="http://mdocml.bsd.lv/cgi-bin/cvsweb/?cvsroot=mdocml">cvsweb</A> and see
434 See <A HREF="http://mdocml.bsd.lv/cgi-bin/cvsweb/index.sgml?cvsroot=mdocml">cvsweb</A> for
442 Copyright © 2008–2010 Kristaps Dzonsons, $Date: 2010/08/18 15:57:16 $