-.\" $Id: mdoc.7,v 1.100 2010/05/12 16:45:18 kristaps Exp $
+.\" $Id: mdoc.7,v 1.121 2010/06/06 22:25:56 kristaps Exp $
.\"
.\" Copyright (c) 2009 Kristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@bsd.lv>
.\"
.\" ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF
.\" OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
.\"
-.Dd $Mdocdate: May 12 2010 $
+.Dd $Mdocdate: June 6 2010 $
.Dt MDOC 7
.Os
.Sh NAME
.Pp
An
.Nm
-document follows simple rules: lines beginning with the control
+document follows simple rules: lines beginning with the control
character
.Sq \.
are parsed for macros. Other lines are interpreted within the scope of
A numerical representation 3, 2, or 1 (bold, italic, and Roman,
respectively) may be used instead.
A text decoration is valid within
-the current font scope only: if a macro opens a font scope alongside
+the current font scope only: if a macro opens a font scope alongside
its own scope, such as
.Sx \&Bf
.Cm \&Sy ,
is necessarily non-portable across output media.
See
.Sx COMPATIBILITY .
+.Ss Sentence Spacing
+When composing a manual, make sure that your sentences end at the end of
+a line.
+By doing so, front-ends will be able to apply the proper amount of
+spacing after the end of sentence (unescaped) period, exclamation mark,
+or question mark followed by zero or more non-sentence closing
+delimiters (
+.Ns Sq \&) ,
+.Sq \&] ,
+.Sq \&' ,
+.Sq \&" ) .
+.Pp
+The proper spacing is also intelligently preserved if a sentence ends at
+the boundary of a macro line, e.g.,
+.Pp
+.D1 \&Xr mandoc 1 \.
+.D1 \&Fl T \&Ns \&Cm ascii \.
.Sh MANUAL STRUCTURE
A well-formed
.Nm
\&.Dd $\&Mdocdate$
\&.Dt mdoc 7
\&.Os
-\&.
\&.Sh NAME
\&.Nm foo
\&.Nd a description goes here
-\&.\e\*q The next is for sections 2 & 3 only.
+\&.\e\*q The next is for sections 2, 3, & 9 only.
\&.\e\*q .Sh LIBRARY
-\&.
\&.Sh SYNOPSIS
\&.Nm foo
\&.Op Fl options
\&.Ar
-\&.
\&.Sh DESCRIPTION
The
\&.Nm
.Sx \&Nd .
.It Em LIBRARY
The name of the library containing the documented material, which is
-assumed to be a function in a section 2 or 3 manual.
+assumed to be a function in a section 2, 3, or 9 manual.
The syntax for this is as follows:
.Bd -literal -offset indent
\&.Lb libarm
macro is a
.Sx Block partial-implicit
only when invoked as the first macro
-in a SYNOPSIS section line, else it is
+in a
+.Em SYNOPSIS
+section line, else it is
.Sx In-line .
.Ss In-line
Closed by
.Ss \&Bf
.Ss \&Bk
.Ss \&Bl
-.\" Begins a list composed of one or more list entries. A list entry is
-.\" specified by the
-.\" .Sx \&It
-.\" macro, which consists of a head and optional body. By default, a list
-.\" is preceded by a blank line. A list must specify one of the following
-.\" list types:
-.\" .Bl -tag -width 12n
-.\" .It Fl bullet
-.\" A list offset by a bullet. The head of list entries must be empty.
-.\" List entry bodies are justified after the bullet.
-.\" .It Fl column
-.\" A columnated list. The number of columns is specified as arguments to
-.\" the
-.\" .Sx \&Bl
-.\" macro (the deprecated form of following the invocation of
-.\" .Fl column
-.\" is also accepted). Arguments dictate the width of columns specified in
-.\" list entries. List entry bodies must be left empty. Columns specified
-.\" in the list entry head are justified to their position in the sequence
-.\" of columns.
-.\" .It Fl dash
-.\" A list offset by a dash (hyphen). The head of list entries must be
-.\" empty. List entry bodies are justified past the dash.
-.\" .It Fl diag
-.\" Like
-.\" .Fl inset
-.\" lists, but with additional formatting to the head.
-.\" .It Fl enum
-.\" A list offset by a number indicating list entry position. The head of
-.\" list entries must be empty. List entry bodies are justified past the
-.\" enumeration.
-.\" .It Fl hang
-.\" Like
-.\" .Fl tag ,
-.\" but instead of list bodies justifying to the head on the first line,
-.\" they trail the head text.
-.\" .It Fl hyphen
-.\" Synonym for
-.\" .Fl dash .
-.\" .It Fl inset
-.\" Like
-.\" .Fl tag ,
-.\" but list entry bodies aren't justified.
-.\" .It Fl item
-.\" An un-justified list. This produces blocks of text.
-.\" .It Fl ohang
-.\" List bodies are placed on the line following the head.
-.\" .It Fl tag
-.\" A list offset by list entry heads. List entry bodies are justified
-.\" after the head.
-.\" .El
-.\" .Pp
-.\" More...
-.\" .
+Begins a list composed of one or more list entries.
+A list is associated with a type, which is a required argument.
+Other arguments are
+.Fl width ,
+defined per-type as accepting a literal or
+.Sx Scaling Widths
+value;
+.Fl offset ,
+also accepting a literal or
+.Sx Scaling Widths
+value setting the list's global offset; and
+.Fl compact ,
+suppressing the default vertical space printed before each list entry.
+A list entry is specified by the
+.Sx \&It
+macro, which consists of a head and optional body (depending on the list
+type).
+A list must specify one of the following list types:
+.Bl -tag -width 12n -offset indent
+.It Fl bullet
+A list offset by a bullet.
+The head of list entries must be empty.
+List entry bodies are positioned after the bullet.
+The
+.Fl width
+argument varies the width of list bodies' left-margins.
+.It Fl column
+A columnated list.
+The
+.Fl width
+argument has no effect.
+The number of columns is specified as parameters to the
+.Sx \&Bl
+macro.
+These dictate the width of columns either as
+.Sx Scaling Widths
+or literal text.
+If the initial macro of a
+.Fl column
+list is not an
+.Sx \&It ,
+an
+.Sx \&It
+context spanning each line is implied until an
+.Sx \&It
+line macro is encountered, at which point list bodies are interpreted as
+described in the
+.Sx \&It
+documentation.
+.It Fl dash
+A list offset by a dash (hyphen).
+The head of list entries must be empty.
+List entry bodies are positioned past the dash.
+The
+.Fl width
+argument varies the width of list bodies' left-margins.
+.It Fl diag
+Like
+.Fl inset ,
+but with additional formatting to the head.
+The
+.Fl width
+argument varies the width of list bodies' left-margins.
+.It Fl enum
+An enumerated list offset by the enumeration from 1.
+The head of list entries must be empty.
+List entry bodies are positioned after the enumeration.
+The
+.Fl width
+argument varies the width of list bodies' left-margins.
+.It Fl hang
+Like
+.Fl tag ,
+but instead of list bodies positioned after the head, they trail the
+head text.
+The
+.Fl width
+argument varies the width of list bodies' left-margins.
+.It Fl hyphen
+Synonym for
+.Fl dash .
+.It Fl inset
+List bodies follow the list head.
+The
+.Fl width
+argument is ignored.
+.It Fl item
+This produces blocks of text.
+The head of list entries must be empty.
+The
+.Fl width
+argument is ignored.
+.It Fl ohang
+List bodies are positioned on the line following the head.
+The
+.Fl width
+argument is ignored.
+.It Fl tag
+A list offset by list entry heads. List entry bodies are positioned
+after the head as specified by the
+.Fl width
+argument.
+.El
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&It .
.Ss \&Bo
Begins a block enclosed by square brackets.
Does not have any head arguments.
and
.Sx \&Dl .
.Ss \&Db
+Start a debugging context.
+This macro is parsed, but generally ignored.
+Its syntax is as follows:
+.Pp
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Db Cm on | off
.Ss \&Dc
Closes a
.Sx \&Do
This is the mandatory first macro of any
.Nm
manual.
-Its calling syntax is as follows:
+Its syntax is as follows:
.Pp
-.D1 \. Ns Sx \&Dd Cm date
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Dd Cm date
.Pp
The
.Cm date
This is the mandatory second macro of any
.Nm
file.
-Its calling syntax is as follows:
-.Pp
-.D1 \. Ns Sx \&Dt Cm title section Op Cm volume | arch
+Its syntax is as follows:
+.Bd -ragged -offset indent
+.Pf \. Sx \&Dt
+.Oo
+.Cm title
+.Oo
+.Cm section
+.Op Cm volume | arch
+.Oc
+.Oc
+.Ed
.Pp
Its arguments are as follows:
.Bl -tag -width Ds -offset Ds
.It Cm title
-The document's title (name).
-This should be capitalised and is required.
+The document's title (name), defaulting to
+.Qq UNKNOWN
+if unspecified.
+It should be capitalised.
.It Cm section
The manual section.
This may be one of
or
.Ar paper
.Pq paper .
-It is also required and should correspond to the manual's filename
-suffix.
+It should correspond to the manual's filename suffix and defaults to
+.Qq 1
+if unspecified.
.It Cm volume
This overrides the volume inferred from
.Ar section .
.D1 \&.Dt FOO 1
.D1 \&.Dt FOO 4 KM
.D1 \&.Dt FOO 9 i386
-.D1 \&.Dt FOO 9 KM i386
.Pp
See also
.Sx \&Dd
.Ss \&Ef
.Ss \&Ek
.Ss \&El
+Ends a list context started by
+.Sx \&Bl .
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&Bl
+and
+.Sx \&It .
.Ss \&Em
Denotes text that should be emphasised.
Note that this is a presentation term and should not be used for
.Sx \&Nm
is provided.
.Ss \&Fa
+Function argument.
+Its syntax is as follows:
+.Bd -ragged -offset indent
+.Pf \. Sx \&Fa
+.Op Cm argtype
+.Cm argname
+.Ed
+.Pp
+This may be invoked for names with or without the corresponding type.
+It is also used to specify the field name of a structure.
+Most often, the
+.Sx \&Fa
+macro is used in the
+.Em SYNOPSIS
+within
+.Sx \&Fo
+section when documenting multi-line function prototypes.
+If invoked with multiple arguments, the arguments are separated by a
+comma.
+Furthermore, if the following macro is another
+.Sx \&Fa ,
+the last argument will also have a trailing comma.
+.Pp
+Examples:
+.D1 \&.Fa \(dqconst char *p\(dq
+.D1 \&.Fa \(dqint a\(dq \(dqint b\(dq \(dqint c\(dq
+.D1 \&.Fa foo
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&Fo .
.Ss \&Fc
.Ss \&Fd
+Historically used to document include files.
+This usage has been deprecated in favour of
+.Sx \&In .
+Do not use this macro.
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&In .
.Ss \&Fl
Command-line flag.
Used when listing arguments to command-line utilities.
See also
.Sx \&Cm .
.Ss \&Fn
+A function name.
+Its syntax is as follows:
+.Bd -ragged -offset indent
+.Pf \. Ns Sx \&Fn
+.Op Cm functype
+.Cm funcname
+.Op Oo Cm argtype Oc Cm argname
+.Ed
+.Pp
+If invoked in the
+.Em SYNOPSIS
+section, vertical space is asserted before and after the macro.
+In all cases, the function arguments are surrounded in parenthesis and
+are delimited by commas.
+If no arguments are specified, blank parenthesis are output.
+.Pp
+Examples:
+.D1 \&.Fn "int funcname" "int arg0" "int arg1"
+.D1 \&.Fn funcname "int arg0"
+.D1 \&.Fn funcname arg0
+.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
+\&.Ft functype
+\&.Fn funcname
+.Ed
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&Fa ,
+.Sx \&Fo ,
+.Sx \&Fc ,
+and
+.Sx \&Ft .
.Ss \&Fo
+Begin a function block.
+This is a multi-line version of
+.Sx \&Fn .
+Its syntax is as follows:
+.Pp
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Fo Cm funcname
+.Pp
+Invocations usually occur in the following context:
+.Bd -ragged -offset indent
+.Pf \. Sx \&Ft Cm functype
+.br
+.Pf \. Sx \&Fo Cm funcname
+.br
+.Pf \. Sx \&Fa Oo Cm argtype Oc Cm argname
+.br
+\.\.\.
+.br
+.Pf \. Sx \&Fc
+.Ed
+.Pp
+In the
+.Em SYNOPSIS
+section, a
+.Sx \&Fo
+block is surrounded by vertical space unless
+.Sx \&Ft
+is the prior macro, in which case it is preceded by only a newline.
+.Pp
+A
+.Sx \&Fo
+scope is closed by
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&Fa ,
+.Sx \&Fc ,
+and
+.Sx \&Fn .
+.Sx \&Fc .
.Ss \&Fr
.Ss \&Ft
+A function type.
+Its syntax is as follows:
+.Pp
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Ft Cm functype
+.Pp
+If invoked before a
+.Sx \&Fo
+or
+.Sx \&Fn
+in the
+.Em SYNOPSIS
+section, a line-break will follow.
+Furthermore, if invoked in the
+.Em SYNOPSIS
+section, it will assert vertical space prior to its arguments.
+.Pp
+Examples:
+.D1 \&.Ft int
+.Bd -literal -offset indent -compact
+\&.Ft functype
+\&.Fn funcname
+.Ed
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&Fo ,
+.Sx \&Fc ,
+and
+.Sx \&Fn .
.Ss \&Fx
Format the FreeBSD version provided as an argument, or a default value
if no argument is provided.
.Ss \&Hf
.Ss \&Ic
.Ss \&In
+An
+.Qq include
+file.
+In the
+.Em SYNOPSIS
+section (only if invoked as the line macro), the first argument is
+preceded by
+.Qq #include ,
+the arguments is enclosed in angled braces, and a newline is asserted.
+In all other invocations, only angled braces will enclose the argument.
+.Pp
+Examples
+.D1 \&.In sys/types
.Ss \&It
+A list item.
+The syntax of this macro depends on the list type.
+.Pp
+Lists
+of type
+.Fl hang ,
+.Fl ohang ,
+.Fl inset ,
+and
+.Fl diag
+have the following syntax:
+.Pp
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&It Cm args
+.Pp
+Lists of type
+.Fl bullet ,
+.Fl dash ,
+.Fl enum ,
+.Fl hyphen
+and
+.Fl item
+have the following syntax:
+.Pp
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&It
+.Pp
+with subsequent lines interpreted within the scope of the
+.Sx \&It
+until either a closing
+.Sx \&El
+or another
+.Sx \&It .
+.Pp
+The
+.Fl tag
+list has the following syntax:
+.Pp
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&It Op Cm args
+.Pp
+Subsequent lines are interpreted as with
+.Fl bullet
+and family.
+The line arguments correspond to the list's left-hand side; body
+arguments correspond to the list's contents.
+.Pp
+The
+.Fl column
+list is the most complicated.
+Its syntax is as follows:
+.Pp
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&It Op Cm args
+.Pp
+The
+.Cm args
+are phrases, a mix of macros and text corresponding to a line column,
+delimited by tabs or the special
+.Sq \&Ta
+pseudo-macro.
+Lines subsequent the
+.Sx \&It
+are interpreted within the scope of the last phrase.
+Calling the pseudo-macro
+.Sq \&Ta
+will open a new phrase scope (this must occur on a macro line to be
+interpreted as a macro). Note that the tab phrase delimiter may only be
+used within the
+.Sx \&It
+line itself.
+Subsequent this, only the
+.Sq \&Ta
+pseudo-macro may be used to delimit phrases.
+Furthermore, note that quoted sections propogate over tab-delimited
+phrases on an
+.Sx \&It ,
+for example,
+.Pp
+.D1 .It \(dqcol1 ; <TAB> col2 ;\(dq \&;
+.Pp
+will preserve the semicolon whitespace except for the last.
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&Bl .
.Ss \&Lb
+Specify a library.
+The syntax is as follows:
+.Pp
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Lb Cm library
+.Pp
+The
+.Cm library
+parameter may be a system library, such as
+.Cm libz
+or
+.Cm libpam ,
+in which case a small library description is printed next to the linker
+invocation; or a custom library, in which case the library name is
+printed in quotes.
+This is most commonly used in the
+.Em SYNOPSIS
+section as described in
+.Sx MANUAL STRUCTURE .
+.Pp
+Examples:
+.D1 \&.Lb libz
+.D1 \&.Lb mdoc
.Ss \&Li
.Ss \&Lk
Format a hyperlink.
-The calling syntax is as follows:
+Its syntax is as follows:
.Pp
-.D1 \. Ns Sx \&Lk Cm uri Op Cm name
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Lk Cm uri Op Cm name
.Pp
Examples:
.D1 \&.Lk http://bsd.lv "The BSD.lv Project"
.Ss \&Lp
.Ss \&Ms
.Ss \&Mt
+Format a
+.Qq mailto:
+hyperlink.
+Its syntax is as follows:
+.Pp
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Mt Cm address
+.Pp
+Examples:
+.D1 \&.Mt discuss@manpages.bsd.lv
.Ss \&Nd
.Ss \&Nm
.Ss \&No
This is the mandatory third macro of
any
.Nm
-file. Its calling syntax is as follows:
+file.
+Its syntax is as follows:
.Pp
-.D1 \. Ns Sx \&Os Op Cm system
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Os Op Cm system
.Pp
The optional
.Cm system
.Sx \&%Q ,
.Sx \&%R ,
.Sx \&%T ,
+.Sx \&%U ,
and
.Sx \&%V
child macros (at least one must be specified).
.Ss \&Sy
.Ss \&Tn
.Ss \&Ud
+Prints out
+.Dq currently under development.
.Ss \&Ux
Format the UNIX name.
Accepts no argument.
.Pp
Examples:
.D1 \&.Vt unsigned char
-.D1 \&.Vt extern const char * const sys_signame[] ;
+.D1 \&.Vt extern const char * const sys_signame[] \&;
.Pp
See also
.Sx \&Ft
.Ss \&Xr
Link to another manual
.Pq Qq cross-reference .
-Its calling syntax is
+Its syntax is as follows:
.Pp
-.D1 \. Ns Sx \&Xr Cm name section
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Xr Cm name section
.Pp
The
.Cm name
.Pp
Examples:
.D1 \&.Xr mandoc 1
-.D1 \&.Xr mandoc 1 ;
+.D1 \&.Xr mandoc 1 \&;
.D1 \&.Xr mandoc 1 \&Ns s behaviour
.Ss \&br
.Ss \&sp
.Pp
.Bl -dash -compact
.It
+groff behaves inconsistently when encountering
+.Pf non- Sx \&Fa
+children of
+.Sx \&Fo
+regarding spacing between arguments.
+In mandoc, this is not the case: each argument is consistently followed
+by a single space and the trailing
+.Sq \&)
+suppresses prior spacing.
+.It
+groff behaves inconsistently when encountering
+.Sx \&Ft
+and
+.Sx \&Fn
+in the
+.Em SYNOPSIS :
+at times newline(s) are suppressed dependong on whether a prior
+.Sx \&Fn
+has been invoked.
+In mandoc, this is not the case.
+See
+.Sx \&Ft
+and
+.Sx \&Fn
+for the normalised behaviour.
+.It
+Historic groff does not break before an
+.Sx \&Fn
+when not invoked as the line macro in the
+.Em SYNOPSIS
+section.
+.It
+Historic groff formats the
+.Sx \&In
+badly: trailing arguments are trashed and
+.Em SYNOPSIS
+is not specially treated.
+.It
+groff does not accept the
+.Sq \&Ta
+pseudo-macro as a line macro.
+mandoc does.
+.It
The comment syntax
.Sq \e."
is no longer accepted.
This is not supported in mandoc.
.It
In groff, the
-.Sx \&Fo
-macro only produces the first parameter.
-This is not the case in mandoc.
-.It
-In groff, the
.Sx \&Cd ,
.Sx \&Er ,
+.Sx \&Ex ,
and
-.Sx \&Ex
+.Sx \&Rv
macros were stipulated only to occur in certain manual sections.
mandoc does not have these restrictions.
+.It
+Newer groff and mandoc print
+.Qq AT&T UNIX
+prior to unknown arguments of
+.Sx \&At ;
+older groff did nothing.
.El
.Sh SEE ALSO
.Xr mandoc 1 ,
git.ckatri.com / mandoc.git / blobdiff