-.\" $Id: man.7,v 1.42 2009/10/31 08:37:26 kristaps Exp $
+.\" $Id: man.7,v 1.58 2010/03/25 07:28:16 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: October 31 2009 $
+.Dd $Mdocdate: March 25 2010 $
.Dt MAN 7
.Os
.
Blank lines are acceptable; where found, the output will assert a
vertical space.
.
-.Pp
-The
-.Sq \ec
-escape is common in historical
-.Nm
-documents; if encountered at the end of a word, it ensures that the
-subsequent word isn't off-set by whitespace.
-.
.
.Ss Comments
Text following a
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. Macro lines with only a control charater and
+is also ignored. Macro lines with only a control character and
optionally whitespace are stripped from input.
.
.
.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).
+escape followed by an indicator: B (bold), I, (italic), R (Roman), or P
+(revert to previous mode):
+.Pp
+.D1 \efBbold\efR \efIitalic\efP
+.Pp
+A numerical representation 3, 2, or 1 (bold, italic, and Roman,
+respectively) may be used instead. A text decoration is only valid, if
+specified in free-form text, until the next macro invocation; if
+specified within a macro, it's only valid until the macro closes scope.
+Note that macros like
+.Sx \&BR
+open and close a font scope with each argument.
+.Pp
+Text may also be sized with the
+.Sq \es
+escape, whose syntax is one of
+.Sq \es+-n
+for one-digit numerals;
+.Sq \es(+-nn
+or
+.Sq \es+-(nn
+for two-digit numerals; and
+.Sq \es[+-N] ,
+.Sq \es+-[N] ,
+.Sq \es'+-N' ,
+or
+.Sq \es+-'N'
+for arbitrary-digit numerals:
+.Pp
+.D1 \es+1bigger\es-1
+.D1 \es[+10]much bigger\es[-10]
+.D1 \es+(10much bigger\es-(10
+.D1 \es+'100'much much bigger\es-'100'
+.Pp
+Both
+.Sq \es
+and
+.Sq \ef
+attributes are forgotten when entering or exiting a macro block.
.
.
.Ss Whitespace
utility such as
.Xr mandoc 1 .
.
+.
+.Ss Dates
+The
+.Sx \&TH
+macro is the only
+.Nm
+macro that requires a date. The form for this date is the ISO-8601
+standard
+.Cm YYYY-MM-DD .
+.
+.
.Ss Scaling Widths
Many macros support scaled widths for their arguments, such as
stipulating a two-inch paragraph indentation with the following:
.Sq u ,
or
.Sq v
-is necessarily non-portable across output media. See
-.Sx COMPATIBILITY .
+is necessarily non-portable across output media.
.
.Pp
If a scaling unit is not provided, the numerical value is interpreted
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"
+\&.TH FOO 1 2009-10-10
\&.
\&.SH NAME
\efBfoo\efR \e(en a description goes here
.D1 Standard C Library (libc, -lc)
.It Em SYNOPSIS
Documents the utility invocation syntax, function call syntax, or device
-configuration.
+configuration.
.Pp
For the first, utilities (sections 1, 6, and 8), this is
generally structured as follows:
.Pp
For the second, function calls (sections 2, 3, 9):
.Pp
-.D1 \. Ns Sx \&B No char *name(char *\efIarg\efR);
+.D1 \&.B char *name(char *\efIarg\efR);
.Pp
And for the third, configurations (section 4):
.Pp
-.D1 \. Ns Sx \&B No name* at cardbus ? function ?
+.D1 \&.B name* at cardbus ? function ?
.Pp
-Manuals not in these sections generally don't need a
+Manuals not in these sections generally don't need a
.Em SYNOPSIS .
.It Em DESCRIPTION
-This expands upon the brief, one-line description in
+This expands upon the brief, one-line description in
.Em NAME .
It usually contains a break-down of the options (if documenting a
command).
.It Em EXAMPLES
Example usages. This often contains snippets of well-formed,
well-tested invocations. Make doubly sure that your examples work
-properly! Assume that users will skip to this section and use your
-example verbatim.
+properly!
.
.It Em DIAGNOSTICS
Documents error conditions. This is most useful in section 4 manuals.
.
.It Em SEE ALSO
References other manuals with related topics. This section should exist
-for most manuals. Cross-references should conventionally be ordered
-first by section, then alphabetically.
+for most manuals.
+.Pp
+.D1 \&.BR bar \&( 1 \&),
.Pp
-.D1 \. Ns Sx \&BR No bar \&( 1 \&),
-.D1 \. Ns Sx \&BR No foo \&( 1 \&),
-.D1 \. Ns Sx \&BR No baz \&( 2 \&).
+Cross-references should conventionally be ordered
+first by section, then alphabetically.
.
.It Em STANDARDS
References any standards implemented or used, such as
.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:
+line and the line arguments are empty, the next line, which must be
+text, is used instead. Thus:
.Bd -literal -offset indent
\&.I
foo
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.
+If a next-line macro is followed by a non-next-line macro, an error is
+raised (unless in the case of
+.Sx \&br ,
+.Sx \&sp ,
+.Sx \&Sp ,
+or
+.Sx \&na ) .
+.Pp
+The syntax is as follows:
.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 Sx \&B Ta n Ta next-line
-.It Sx \&BI Ta n Ta current
-.It Sx \&BR Ta n Ta current
-.It Sx \&DT Ta 0 Ta current
-.It Sx \&I Ta n Ta next-line
-.It Sx \&IB Ta n Ta current
-.It Sx \&IR Ta n Ta current
-.It Sx \&PD Ta n Ta current
-.It Sx \&R Ta n Ta next-line
-.It Sx \&RB Ta n Ta current
-.It Sx \&RI Ta n Ta current
-.It Sx \&SB Ta n Ta next-line
-.It Sx \&SM Ta n Ta next-line
-.It Sx \&TH Ta >1, <6 Ta current
-.It Sx \&UC Ta n Ta current
-.It Sx \&br Ta 0 Ta current
-.It Sx \&fi Ta 0 Ta current
-.It Sx \&i Ta n Ta current
-.It Sx \&na Ta 0 Ta current
-.It Sx \&nf Ta 0 Ta current
-.It Sx \&r Ta 0 Ta current
-.It Sx \&sp Ta 1 Ta current
+.Bl -column -compact -offset indent "MacroX" "ArgumentsX" "ScopeXXXXX" "CompatX"
+.It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments Ta Em Scope Ta Em Notes
+.It Sx \&B Ta n Ta next-line Ta \&
+.It Sx \&BI Ta n Ta current Ta \&
+.It Sx \&BR Ta n Ta current Ta \&
+.It Sx \&DT Ta 0 Ta current Ta \&
+.It Sx \&I Ta n Ta next-line Ta \&
+.It Sx \&IB Ta n Ta current Ta \&
+.It Sx \&IR Ta n Ta current Ta \&
+.\" .It Sx \&PD Ta n Ta current Ta compat
+.It Sx \&R Ta n Ta next-line Ta \&
+.It Sx \&RB Ta n Ta current Ta \&
+.It Sx \&RI Ta n Ta current Ta \&
+.It Sx \&SB Ta n Ta next-line Ta \&
+.It Sx \&SM Ta n Ta next-line Ta \&
+.It Sx \&TH Ta >1, <6 Ta current Ta \&
+.\" .It Sx \&UC Ta n Ta current Ta compat
+.It Sx \&br Ta 0 Ta current Ta compat
+.It Sx \&fi Ta 0 Ta current Ta compat
+.It Sx \&i Ta n Ta current Ta compat
+.It Sx \&na Ta 0 Ta current Ta compat
+.It Sx \&nf Ta 0 Ta current Ta compat
+.It Sx \&r Ta 0 Ta current Ta compat
+.It Sx \&sp Ta 1 Ta current Ta compat
+.\" .It Sx \&Sp Ta 0 Ta current Ta compat
+.\" .It Sx \&Vb Ta <1 Ta current Ta compat
+.\" .It Sx \&Ve Ta 0 Ta current Ta compat
.El
.
.Pp
-The
-.Sx \&PD ,
-.Sx \&RS ,
-.Sx \&RE ,
-.Sx \&UC ,
-.Sx \&br ,
-.Sx \&fi ,
-.Sx \&i ,
-.Sx \&na ,
-.Sx \&nf ,
-.Sx \&r ,
-and
-.Sx \&sp
-macros should not be used. They're included for compatibility.
+Macros marked as
+.Qq compat
+are included for compatibility with the significant corpus of existing
+manuals that mix dialects of roff. These macros should not be used for
+portable
+.Nm
+manuals.
.
.
.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.
+next line (the next-line stipulations as in
+.Sx Line Macros
+apply here as well).
+.Pp
+The syntax is as follows:
.Bd -literal -offset indent
\&.YO \(lBhead...\(rB
\(lBhead...\(rB
.Sx \&SS ;
part, closed by a section, sub-section, or
.Sx \&RE ;
-or paragraph, closed by a section, sub-section, part,
+or paragraph, closed by a section, sub-section, part,
.Sx \&HP ,
.Sx \&IP ,
.Sx \&LP ,
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 Sx \&HP Ta <2 Ta current Ta paragraph
-.It Sx \&IP Ta <3 Ta current Ta paragraph
-.It Sx \&LP Ta 0 Ta current Ta paragraph
-.It Sx \&P Ta 0 Ta current Ta paragraph
-.It Sx \&PP Ta 0 Ta current Ta paragraph
-.It Sx \&RE Ta 0 Ta current Ta none
-.It Sx \&RS Ta 1 Ta current Ta part
-.It Sx \&SH Ta >0 Ta next-line Ta section
-.It Sx \&SS Ta >0 Ta next-line Ta sub-section
-.It Sx \&TP Ta n Ta next-line Ta paragraph
+As a rule, block macros may not be nested; thus, calling a block macro
+while another block macro scope is open, and the open scope is not
+implicitly closed, is syntactically incorrect.
+.
+.Pp
+.Bl -column -compact -offset indent "MacroX" "ArgumentsX" "Head ScopeX" "sub-sectionX" "compatX"
+.It Em Macro Ta Em Arguments Ta Em Head Scope Ta Em Body Scope Ta Em Notes
+.It Sx \&HP Ta <2 Ta current Ta paragraph Ta \&
+.It Sx \&IP Ta <3 Ta current Ta paragraph Ta \&
+.It Sx \&LP Ta 0 Ta current Ta paragraph Ta \&
+.It Sx \&P Ta 0 Ta current Ta paragraph Ta \&
+.It Sx \&PP Ta 0 Ta current Ta paragraph Ta \&
+.It Sx \&RE Ta 0 Ta current Ta none Ta compat
+.It Sx \&RS Ta 1 Ta current Ta part Ta compat
+.It Sx \&SH Ta >0 Ta next-line Ta section Ta \&
+.It Sx \&SS Ta >0 Ta next-line Ta sub-section Ta \&
+.It Sx \&TP Ta n Ta next-line Ta paragraph Ta \&
.El
+.Pp
+.
+Macros marked
+.Qq compat
+are as mentioned in
+.Sx Line Macros .
.
.Pp
If a block macro is next-line scoped, it may only be followed by in-line
-macros (excluding
-.Sx \&DT ,
-.Sx \&PD ,
-.Sx \&TH ,
-.Sx \&UC ,
-.Sx \&br ,
-.Sx \&na ,
-.Sx \&sp ,
-.Sx \&nf ,
-and
-.Sx \&fi ) .
+macros for decorating text.
.
.
.Sh REFERENCE
alphabetically. For the scoping of individual macros, see
.Sx MACRO SYNTAX .
.
+.
.Ss \&B
Text is rendered in bold face.
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&I ,
+.Sx \&R ,
+.Sx \&b ,
+.Sx \&i ,
+and
+.Sx \&r .
+.
+.
.Ss \&BI
-Text is rendered alternately in bold face and italic. Thus,
+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
+to render in bold face, while
.Sq word
and
.Sq that
render in italics. Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
+.Pp
+Examples:
+.Pp
+.D1 \&.BI bold italic bold italic
+.Pp
+The output of this example will be emboldened
+.Dq bold
+and italicised
+.Dq italic ,
+with spaces stripped between arguments.
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&IB ,
+.Sx \&BR ,
+.Sx \&RB ,
+.Sx \&RI ,
+and
+.Sx \&IR .
+.
+.
.Ss \&BR
Text is rendered alternately in bold face and roman (the default font).
Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
+.Pp
+See
+.Sx \&BI
+for an equivalent example.
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&BI ,
+.Sx \&IB ,
+.Sx \&RB ,
+.Sx \&RI ,
+and
+.Sx \&IR .
+.
+.
.Ss \&DT
Has no effect. Included for compatibility.
+.
+.
.Ss \&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
-\&.HP [width]
+.Bd -filled -offset indent
+.Pf \. Sx \&HP
+.Op Cm width
.Ed
-.
.Pp
-If scaling width
-.Va width
-is specified, it's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if
-unspecified, the saved or default width is used.
+The
+.Cm width
+argument must conform to
+.Sx Scaling Widths .
+If specified, it's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if unspecified, the
+saved or default width is used.
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&IP ,
+.Sx \&LP ,
+.Sx \&P ,
+.Sx \&PP ,
+and
+.Sx \&TP .
+.
+.
.Ss \&I
Text is rendered in italics.
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&B ,
+.Sx \&R ,
+.Sx \&b ,
+.Sx \&i ,
+and
+.Sx \&r .
+.
+.
.Ss \&IB
Text is rendered alternately in italics and bold face. Whitespace
between arguments is omitted in output.
+.Pp
+See
+.Sx \&BI
+for an equivalent example.
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&BI ,
+.Sx \&BR ,
+.Sx \&RB ,
+.Sx \&RI ,
+and
+.Sx \&IR .
+.
+.
.Ss \&IP
-Begin a paragraph with the following syntax:
-.Bd -literal -offset indent
-\&.IP [head [width]]
+Begin an indented paragraph with the following syntax:
+.Bd -filled -offset indent
+.Pf \. Sx \&IP
+.Op Cm head Op Cm width
.Ed
-.
.Pp
-This follows the behaviour of the
-.Sx \&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.
+The
+.Cm width
+argument defines the width of the left margin and is defined by
+.Sx Scaling Widths ,
+It's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if unspecified, the saved or
+default width is used.
+.Pp
+The
+.Cm head
+argument is used as a leading term, flushed to the left margin. This is
+useful for bulleted paragraphs and so on.
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&HP ,
+.Sx \&LP ,
+.Sx \&P ,
+.Sx \&PP ,
+and
+.Sx \&TP .
+.
+.
.Ss \&IR
Text is rendered alternately in italics and roman (the default font).
Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
+.Pp
+See
+.Sx \&BI
+for an equivalent example.
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&BI ,
+.Sx \&IB ,
+.Sx \&BR ,
+.Sx \&RB ,
+and
+.Sx \&RI .
+.
+.
.Ss \&LP
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.
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&HP ,
+.Sx \&IP ,
+.Sx \&P ,
+.Sx \&PP ,
+and
+.Sx \&TP .
+.
+.
.Ss \&P
Synonym for
.Sx \&LP .
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&HP ,
+.Sx \&IP ,
+.Sx \&LP ,
+.Sx \&PP ,
+and
+.Sx \&TP .
+.
+.
.Ss \&PP
Synonym for
.Sx \&LP .
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&HP ,
+.Sx \&IP ,
+.Sx \&LP ,
+.Sx \&P ,
+and
+.Sx \&TP .
+.
+.
.Ss \&R
Text is rendered in roman (the default font).
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&I ,
+.Sx \&B ,
+.Sx \&b ,
+.Sx \&i ,
+and
+.Sx \&r .
+.
+.
.Ss \&RB
Text is rendered alternately in roman (the default font) and bold face.
Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
+.Pp
+See
+.Sx \&BI
+for an equivalent example.
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&BI ,
+.Sx \&IB ,
+.Sx \&BR ,
+.Sx \&RI ,
+and
+.Sx \&IR .
+.
+.
.Ss \&RE
Explicitly close out the scope of a prior
.Sx \&RS .
+.
+.
.Ss \&RI
Text is rendered alternately in roman (the default font) and italics.
Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
+.Pp
+See
+.Sx \&BI
+for an equivalent example.
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&BI ,
+.Sx \&IB ,
+.Sx \&BR ,
+.Sx \&RB ,
+and
+.Sx \&IR .
+.
+.
.Ss \&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
.Sx \&PP .
-A scaling width may be specified as following:
-.Bd -literal -offset indent
-\&.RS [width]
+This has the following syntax:
+.Bd -filled -offset indent
+.Pf \. Sx \&Rs
+.Op Cm width
.Ed
-.
.Pp
-If
-.Va width
-is not specified, the saved or default width is used.
+The
+.Cm width
+argument must conform to
+.Sx Scaling Widths .
+If not specified, the saved or default width is used.
+.
+.
.Ss \&SB
Text is rendered in small size (one point smaller than the default font)
bold face.
+.
+.
.Ss \&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.
+.
+.
.Ss \&SM
Text is rendered in small size (one point smaller than the default
font).
+.
+.
.Ss \&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.
+.
+.
.Ss \&TH
Sets the title of the manual page with the following syntax:
-.Bd -literal -offset indent
-\&.TH title section [date [source [volume]]]
+.Bd -filled -offset indent
+.Pf \. Sx \&TH
+.Cm title section
+.Op Cm date Op Cm source Op Cm volume
.Ed
-.
.Pp
-At least the
-.Va title
-and
-.Va section
+At least the upper-case document title
+.Cm title
+and numeric manual section
+.Cm section
arguments must be provided. The
-.Va date
-argument should be formatted as
-.Qq %b [%d] %Y
-format, described in
-.Xr strptime 3 .
-The
-.Va source
+.Cm date
+argument should be formatted as described in
+.Sx Dates :
+if it does not conform, the current date is used instead. The
+.Cm source
string specifies the organisation providing the utility. The
-.Va volume
-replaces the default rendered volume as dictated by the manual section.
+.Cm volume
+string replaces the default rendered volume, which is dictated by the
+manual section.
+.Pp
+Examples:
+.Pp
+.D1 \&.TH CVS 5 "1992-02-12" GNU
+.
+.
.Ss \&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
-The indentation scaling width may be set as follows:
-.Bd -literal -offset indent
-\&.TP [width]
+The syntax is as follows:
+.Bd -filled -offset indent
+.Pf \. Sx \&TP
+.Op Cm width
.Ed
-.
.Pp
-If
-.Va width
-is specified, it's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if
+The
+.Cm width
+argument must conform to
+.Sx Scaling Widths .
+If specified, it's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if
unspecified, the saved or default width is used.
-.Ss \&PD
-Has no effect. Included for compatibility.
-.Ss \&UC
-Has no effect. Included for compatibility.
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&HP ,
+.Sx \&IP ,
+.Sx \&LP ,
+.Sx \&P ,
+and
+.Sx \&PP .
+.\" .
+.\" .
+.\" .Ss \&PD
+.\" Has no effect. Included for compatibility.
+.\" .
+.\" .
+.\" .Ss \&UC
+.\" Has no effect. Included for compatibility.
+.
+.
.Ss \&br
Breaks the current line. Consecutive invocations have no further effect.
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&sp .
+.
+.
.Ss \&fi
End literal mode begun by
.Sx \&nf .
+.
+.
.Ss \&i
-Italicise arguments. If no arguments are specified, all subsequent text
-is italicised.
+Italicise arguments. Synonym for
+.Sx \&I .
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&B ,
+.Sx \&I ,
+.Sx \&R .
+.Sx \&b ,
+and
+.Sx \&r .
+.
+.
.Ss \&na
Don't align to the right margin.
+.
+.
.Ss \&nf
Begin literal mode: all subsequent free-form lines have their end of
line boundaries preserved. May be ended by
.Sx \&fi .
+.
+.
.Ss \&r
Fonts and styles (bold face, italics) reset to roman (default font).
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&B ,
+.Sx \&I ,
+.Sx \&R ,
+.Sx \&b ,
+and
+.Sx \&i .
+.
+.
.Ss \&sp
-Insert n spaces, where n is the macro's positive numeric argument. If
-0, this is equivalent to the
+Insert vertical spaces into output with the following syntax:
+.Bd -filled -offset indent
+.Pf \. Sx \&sp
+.Op Cm height
+.Ed
+.Pp
+Insert
+.Cm height
+spaces, which must conform to
+.Sx Scaling Widths .
+If 0, this is equivalent to the
.Sx \&br
-macro.
-.
+macro. Defaults to 1, if unspecified.
+.Pp
+See also
+.Sx \&br .
+.
+.\" .Ss \&Sp
+.\" A synonym for
+.\" .Sx \&sp
+.\" .Cm 0.5v .
+.\" .
+.\" .Ss \&Vb
+.\" A synonym for
+.\" .Sx \&nf .
+.\" Accepts an argument (the height of the formatted space) which is
+.\" disregarded.
+.\" .
+.\" .Ss \&Ve
+.\" A synonym for
+.\" .Sx \&fi .
+.\" .
.
.Sh COMPATIBILITY
-This section documents compatibility with other roff implementations, at
-this time limited to
-.Xr groff 1 .
-.Bl -hyphen
+This section documents areas of questionable portability between
+implementations of the
+.Nm
+language.
+.Pp
+.Bl -dash -compact
.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.
+In quoted literals, GNU troff allowed pair-wise double-quotes to produce
+a standalone double-quote in formatted output. It is not known whether
+this behaviour is exhibited by other formatters.
.It
-The
-.Sq sp
-macro does not accept negative numbers.
+Blocks of whitespace are stripped from macro and free-form text lines
+(except when in literal mode) in mandoc. This is not the case for GNU
+troff: for maximum portability, whitespace sensitive blocks should be
+enclosed in literal contexts.
.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.
+The
+.Sx \&sp
+macro does not accept negative values in mandoc. In GNU troff, this
+would result in strange behaviour.
.El
.
.
git.ckatri.com / mandoc.git / blobdiff