-.\" $Id: man.7,v 1.21 2009/07/27 12:35:53 kristaps Exp $
+.\" $Id: man.7,v 1.37 2009/09/05 10:37:09 kristaps Exp $
.\"
.\" Copyright (c) 2009 Kristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@kth.se>
.\"
.\" ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF
.\" OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
.\"
-.Dd $Mdocdate: July 27 2009 $
+.Dd $Mdocdate: September 5 2009 $
.Dt MAN 7
.Os
-.\" SECTION
+.
+.
.Sh NAME
.Nm man
.Nd man language reference
-.\" SECTION
+.
+.
.Sh DESCRIPTION
The
.Nm man
.Ux
manuals. This reference document describes its syntax, structure, and
usage.
+.
.Pp
.Bf -emphasis
Do not use
Use the
.Xr mdoc 7
language, instead.
-.\" PARAGRAPH
+.
.Pp
An
.Nm
\&.SH Macro lines change control state.
Other lines are interpreted within the current state.
.Ed
-.\" SECTION
+.
+.
.Sh INPUT ENCODING
.Nm
documents may contain only graphable 7-bit ASCII characters, the
space character, and the tabs character. All manuals must have
.Ux
line termination.
+.
.Pp
Blank lines are acceptable; where found, the output will assert a
vertical space.
+.
.Pp
The
.Sq \ec
.Nm
documents; if encountered at the end of a word, it ensures that the
subsequent word isn't off-set by whitespace.
-.\" SUB-SECTION
+.
+.
.Ss Comments
Text following a
-.Sq \e" ,
+.Sq \e\*" ,
whether in a macro or free-form text line, is ignored to the end of
line. A macro line with only a control character and comment escape,
.Sq \&.\e" ,
-is also ignored.
-.\" SUB-SECTION
+is also ignored. Macro lines with only a control charater and
+optionally whitespace are stripped from input.
+.
+.
.Ss Special Characters
Special characters may occur in both macro and free-form lines.
Sequences begin with the escape character
and
.Sq \ee
.Pq back-slash .
-.\" SUB-SECTION----------------------
+.
+.
.Ss Text Decoration
Terms may be text-decorated using the
.Sq \ef
escape followed by an indicator: B (bold), I, (italic), or P and R
(Roman, or reset).
-.\" SUB-SECTION----------------------
+.
+.
.Ss Whitespace
Unless specifically escaped, consecutive blocks of whitespace are pruned
from input. These are later re-added, if applicable, by a front-end
utility such as
.Xr mandoc 1 .
-.\" SECTION
-.Sh STRUCTURE
+.
+.
+.Sh MANUAL STRUCTURE
Each
.Nm
document must contain contains at least the
-.Sq \&.TH
+.Sq TH
macro describing the document's section and title. It may occur
anywhere in the document, although conventionally, it appears as the
first macro.
+.
.Pp
-Beyond the
-.Sq \&.TH ,
-at least one macro or text node must appear in the document.
-.\" SECTION
-.Sh SYNTAX
+Beyond
+.Sq TH ,
+at least one macro or text node must appear in the document. Documents
+are generally structured as follows:
+.Bd -literal -offset indent
+\&.TH FOO 1 "13 Aug 2009"
+\&.
+\&.SH NAME
+\efBfoo\efR \e(en a description goes here
+\&.\e\*q The next is for sections 2 & 3 only.
+\&.\e\*q .SH LIBRARY
+\&.
+\&.SH SYNOPSIS
+\efBfoo\efR [\efB\e-options\efR] arguments...
+\&.
+\&.SH DESCRIPTION
+The \efBfoo\efR utility processes files...
+\&.
+\&.\e\*q .SH IMPLEMENTATION NOTES
+\&.\e\*q The next is for sections 1 & 8 only.
+\&.\e\*q .SH EXIT STATUS
+\&.\e\*q The next is for sections 2, 3, & 9 only.
+\&.\e\*q .SH RETURN VALUES
+\&.\e\*q The next is for sections 1, 6, 7, & 8 only.
+\&.\e\*q .SH ENVIRONMENT
+\&.\e\*q .SH FILES
+\&.\e\*q .SH EXAMPLES
+\&.\e\*q The next is for sections 1, 4, 6, 7, & 8 only.
+\&.\e\*q .SH DIAGNOSTICS
+\&.\e\*q The next is for sections 2, 3, & 9 only.
+\&.\e\*q .SH ERRORS
+\&.\e\*q .SH SEE ALSO
+\&.\e\*q \efBbar\efR(1)
+\&.\e\*q .SH STANDARDS
+\&.\e\*q .SH HISTORY
+\&.\e\*q .SH AUTHORS
+\&.\e\*q .SH CAVEATS
+\&.\e\*q .SH BUGS
+\&.\e\*q .SH SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
+.Ed
+.
+.
+.Sh MACRO SYNTAX
Macros are one to three three characters in length and begin with a
control character ,
.Sq \&. ,
at the beginning of the line. An arbitrary amount of whitespace may
sit between the control character and the macro name. Thus,
-.Sq \&.PP
+.Sq .PP
and
-.Sq \&.\ \ \ \&PP
+.Sq \&.\ \ \ PP
are equivalent.
+.
.Pp
-All
+The
.Nm
-macros follow the same structural rules:
+macros are classified by scope: line scope or block scope. Line
+macros are only scoped to the current line (and, in some situations,
+the subsequent line). Block macros are scoped to the current line and
+subsequent lines until closed by another block macro.
+.
+.
+.Ss Line Macros
+Line macros are generally scoped to the current line, with the body
+consisting of zero or more arguments. If a macro is scoped to the next
+line and the line arguments are empty, the next line is used instead,
+else the general syntax is used. Thus:
+.Bd -literal -offset indent
+\&.I
+foo
+.Ed
+.
+.Pp
+is equivalent to
+.Sq \&.I foo .
+If next-line macros are invoked consecutively, only the last is used.
+If a next-line macro is proceded by a block macro, it is ignored.
.Bd -literal -offset indent
\&.YO \(lBbody...\(rB
+\(lBbody...\(rB
.Ed
+.
+.Pp
+.Bl -column -compact -offset indent "MacroX" "ArgumentsX" "ScopeXXXXX"
+.It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments Ta Em Scope
+.It B Ta n Ta next-line
+.It BI Ta n Ta current
+.It BR Ta n Ta current
+.It DT Ta 0 Ta current
+.It I Ta n Ta next-line
+.It IB Ta n Ta current
+.It IR Ta n Ta current
+.It R Ta n Ta next-line
+.It RB Ta n Ta current
+.It RI Ta n Ta current
+.It SB Ta n Ta next-line
+.It SM Ta n Ta next-line
+.It TH Ta >1, <6 Ta current
+.It UC Ta n Ta current
+.It br Ta 0 Ta current
+.It fi Ta 0 Ta current
+.It i Ta n Ta current
+.It na Ta 0 Ta current
+.It nf Ta 0 Ta current
+.It r Ta 0 Ta current
+.It sp Ta 1 Ta current
+.El
+.
.Pp
The
-.Dq body
-consists of zero or more arguments to the macro.
+.Sq RS ,
+.Sq RE ,
+.Sq UC ,
+.Sq br ,
+.Sq fi ,
+.Sq i ,
+.Sq na ,
+.Sq nf ,
+.Sq r ,
+and
+.Sq sp
+macros should not be used. They're included for compatibility.
+.
+.
+.Ss Block Macros
+Block macros are comprised of a head and body. Like for in-line macros,
+the head is scoped to the current line and, in one circumstance, the
+next line; the body is scoped to subsequent lines and is closed out by a
+subsequent block macro invocation.
+.Bd -literal -offset indent
+\&.YO \(lBhead...\(rB
+\(lBhead...\(rB
+\(lBbody...\(rB
+.Ed
+.
.Pp
-.Nm
-has a primitive notion of multi-line scope for the following macros:
-.Sq \&.TM ,
-.Sq \&.SM ,
-.Sq \&.SB ,
-.Sq \&.BI ,
-.Sq \&.IB ,
-.Sq \&.BR ,
-.Sq \&.RB ,
-.Sq \&.R ,
-.Sq \&.B ,
-.Sq \&.I ,
-.Sq \&.IR
+The closure of body scope may be to the section, where a macro is closed
+by
+.Sq SH ;
+sub-section, closed by a section or
+.Sq SS ;
+part, closed by a section, sub-section, or
+.Sq RE ;
+or paragraph, closed by a section, sub-section, part,
+.Sq HP ,
+.Sq IP ,
+.Sq LP ,
+.Sq P ,
+.Sq PP ,
+or
+.Sq TP .
+No closure refers to an explicit block closing macro.
+.
+.Pp
+.Bl -column "MacroX" "ArgumentsX" "Head ScopeX" "sub-sectionX" -compact -offset indent
+.It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments Ta Em Head Scope Ta Em Body Scope
+.It HP Ta <2 Ta current Ta paragraph
+.It IP Ta <3 Ta current Ta paragraph
+.It LP Ta 0 Ta current Ta paragraph
+.It P Ta 0 Ta current Ta paragraph
+.It PP Ta 0 Ta current Ta paragraph
+.It RE Ta 0 Ta current Ta none
+.It RS Ta 1 Ta current Ta part
+.It SH Ta >0 Ta next-line Ta section
+.It SS Ta >0 Ta next-line Ta sub-section
+.It TP Ta n Ta next-line Ta paragraph
+.El
+.
+.Pp
+If a block macro is next-line scoped, it may only be followed by in-line
+macros (excluding
+.Sq DT ,
+.Sq TH ,
+.Sq UC ,
+.Sq br ,
+.Sq na ,
+.Sq sp ,
+.Sq nf ,
and
-.Sq \&.RI .
-When these macros are invoked without arguments, the subsequent line is
-considered a continuation of the macro. Thus:
+.Sq fi ) .
+.
+.
+.Sh REFERENCE
+This section is a canonical reference to all macros, arranged
+alphabetically. For the scoping of individual macros, see
+.Sx MACRO SYNTAX .
+.
+.
+.Ss Definitions
+In this reference, a numerical width may be either a standalone natural
+number (such as 3, 4, 10, etc.) or a natural number followed by a width
+multiplier
+.Qq n ,
+corresponding to the width of the formatted letter n, or
+.Qq m ,
+corresponding to the width of the formatted letter m. The latter is the
+default, if unspecified. Thus,
.Bd -literal -offset indent
-\&.RI
-foo
+\&.HP 12n
.Ed
+.
.Pp
-is equivalent to
-.Sq \&.RI foo .
-If two consecutive lines exhibit the latter behaviour,
-an error is raised. Thus, the following is not acceptable:
+indicates an offset of 12
+.Qq n
+.Ns -sized
+letters.
+.
+.
+.Ss Macro Reference
+.Bl -tag -width Ds
+.It B
+Text is rendered in bold face.
+.It BI
+Text is rendered alternately in bold face and italic. Thus,
+.Sq .BI this word and that
+causes
+.Sq this
+and
+.Sq and
+to render in bold face, while
+.Sq word
+and
+.Sq that
+render in italics. Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
+.It BR
+Text is rendered alternately in bold face and roman (the default font).
+Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
+.It DT
+Has no effect. Included for compatibility.
+.It HP
+Begin a paragraph whose initial output line is left-justified, but
+subsequent output lines are indented, with the following syntax:
.Bd -literal -offset indent
-\&.RI
-\&.I
-Hello, world.
+\&.HP [width]
+.Ed
+.
+.Pp
+If
+.Va width
+is specified, it's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if
+unspecified, the saved or default width is used.
+.It I
+Text is rendered in italics.
+.It IB
+Text is rendered alternately in italics and bold face. Whitespace
+between arguments is omitted in output.
+.It IP
+Begin a paragraph with the following syntax:
+.Bd -literal -offset indent
+\&.IP [head [width]]
.Ed
+.
.Pp
+This follows the behaviour of the
+.Sq TP
+except for the macro syntax (all arguments on the line, instead of
+having next-line scope). If
+.Va width
+is specified, it's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if
+unspecified, the saved or default width is used.
+.It IR
+Text is rendered alternately in italics and roman (the default font).
+Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
+.It LP, P, PP
+Begin an undecorated paragraph. The scope of a paragraph is closed by a
+subsequent paragraph, sub-section, section, or end of file. The saved
+paragraph left-margin width is re-set to the default.
+.It R
+Text is rendered in roman (the default font).
+.It RB
+Text is rendered alternately in roman (the default font) and bold face.
+Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
+.It RE
+Explicitly close out the scope of a prior
+.Sq RS .
+.It RI
+Text is rendered alternately in roman (the default font) and italics.
+Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
+.It RS
+Begin a part setting the left margin. The left margin controls the
+offset, following an initial indentation, to un-indented text such as
+that of
+.Sq PP .
+The width may be specified as following:
+.Bd -literal -offset indent
+\&.RS [width]
+.Ed
+.
+.Pp
+If
+.Va width
+is not specified, the saved or default width is used.
+.It SB
+Text is rendered in small size (one point smaller than the default font)
+bold face.
+.It SH
+Begin a section. The scope of a section is only closed by another
+section or the end of file. The paragraph left-margin width is re-set
+to the default.
+.It SM
+Text is rendered in small size (one point smaller than the default
+font).
+.It SS
+Begin a sub-section. The scope of a sub-section is closed by a
+subsequent sub-section, section, or end of file. The paragraph
+left-margin width is re-set to the default.
+.It TH
+Sets the title of the manual page with the following syntax:
+.Bd -literal -offset indent
+\&.TH title section [date [source [volume]]]
+.Ed
+.
+.Pp
+At least the
+.Va title
+and
+.Va section
+arguments must be provided. The
+.Va date
+argument should be formatted as
+.Qq %b [%d] %Y
+format, described in
+.Xr strptime 3 .
The
-.Sq \&.TP
-macro is similar, but does not need an empty argument line to trigger
-the behaviour.
-.\" SECTION
-.Sh MACROS
-This section contains a complete list of all
-.Nm
-macros and corresponding number of arguments.
-.Pp
-.Bl -column "MacroX" "Arguments" -compact -offset indent
-.It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments
-.It \&.TH Ta >1, <6
-.It \&.SH Ta >0
-.It \&.SS Ta >0
-.It \&.TP Ta n
-.It \&.LP Ta 0
-.It \&.PP Ta 0
-.It \&.P Ta 0
-.It \&.IP Ta <3
-.It \&.HP Ta <2
-.It \&.SM Ta n
-.It \&.SB Ta n
-.It \&.BI Ta n
-.It \&.IB Ta n
-.It \&.BR Ta n
-.It \&.RB Ta n
-.It \&.R Ta n
-.It \&.B Ta n
-.It \&.I Ta n
-.It \&.IR Ta n
-.It \&.RI Ta n
-.El
+.Va source
+string specifies the organisation providing the utility. The
+.Va volume
+replaces the default rendered volume as dictated by the manual section.
+.It TP
+Begin a paragraph where the head, if exceeding the indentation width, is
+followed by a newline; if not, the body follows on the same line after a
+buffer to the indentation width. Subsequent output lines are indented.
+.
.Pp
-Although not historically part of the
-.Nm
-system, the following macros are also supported:
+The indentation width may be set as follows:
+.Bd -literal -offset indent
+\&.TP [width]
+.Ed
+.
.Pp
-.Bl -column "MacroX" "Arguments" -compact -offset indent
-.It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments
-.It \&.br Ta 0
-.It \&.i Ta n
+Where
+.Va width
+must be a properly-formed numeric width. If
+.Va width
+is specified, it's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if
+unspecified, the saved or default width is used.
+.It UC
+Has no effect. Included for compatibility.
+.It br
+Breaks the current line. Consecutive invocations have no further effect.
+.It fi
+End literal mode begun by
+.Sq nf .
+.It i
+Italicise arguments. If no arguments are specified, all subsequent text
+is italicised.
+.It na
+Don't align to the right margin.
+.It nf
+Begin literal mode: all subsequent free-form lines have their end of
+line boundaries preserved. May be ended by
+.Sq fi .
+.It r
+Fonts and styles (bold face, italics) reset to roman (default font).
+.It sp
+Insert n spaces, where n is the macro's positive numeric argument. If
+0, this is equivalent to the
+.Sq br
+macro.
.El
-.Pp
-These follow the same calling conventions as the above
-.Nm
-macros.
-.\" SECTION
+.
+.
.Sh COMPATIBILITY
-See
-.Xr mdoc 7
-for groff compatibility notes.
-.\" SECTION
+This section documents compatibility with other roff implementations, at
+this time limited to
+.Xr groff 1 .
+.Bl -hyphen
+.It
+In quoted literals, groff allowed pair-wise double-quotes to produce a
+standalone double-quote in formatted output. This idiosyncratic
+behaviour is no longer applicable.
+.It
+The
+.Sq sp
+macro does not accept negative numbers.
+.It
+Blocks of whitespace are stripped from both macro and free-form text
+lines (except when in literal mode), while groff would retain whitespace
+in free-form text lines.
+.El
+.
+.
.Sh SEE ALSO
.Xr mandoc 1 ,
.Xr mandoc_char 7
-.\" SECTION
+.
+.
.Sh AUTHORS
The
.Nm
-utility was written by
+reference was written by
.An Kristaps Dzonsons Aq kristaps@kth.se .
-.\" SECTION
+.
+.
.Sh CAVEATS
Do not use this language. Use
.Xr mdoc 7 ,
instead.
+.
git.ckatri.com / mandoc.git / blobdiff