libmdoc.h no longer needs mdoc.h

[mandoc.git] / mdoc.7

diff --git a/mdoc.7 b/mdoc.7
index 8838c57305b6544b4ebf190159aaafd0569a981b..5c07434cd80e6d5baa70db10cd176977b27ec862 100644 (file)
--- a/mdoc.7
+++ b/mdoc.7
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
-.\"    $Id: mdoc.7,v 1.236 2014/08/28 03:51:56 schwarze Exp $
+.\"    $Id: mdoc.7,v 1.271 2018/07/28 18:34:15 schwarze Exp $

 .\"
 .\" Copyright (c) 2009, 2010, 2011 Kristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@bsd.lv>
 .\"
 .\" Copyright (c) 2009, 2010, 2011 Kristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@bsd.lv>

-.\" Copyright (c) 2010, 2011, 2013 Ingo Schwarze <schwarze@openbsd.org>
+.\" Copyright (c) 2010, 2011, 2013-2018 Ingo Schwarze <schwarze@openbsd.org>

 .\"
 .\" Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any
 .\" purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above
 .\"
 .\" Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any
 .\" purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above


@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@
 .\" ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF
 .\" OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
 .\"
 .\" ACTION OF CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE OR OTHER TORTIOUS ACTION, ARISING OUT OF
 .\" OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.
 .\"

-.Dd $Mdocdate: August 28 2014 $
+.Dd $Mdocdate: July 28 2018 $

 .Dt MDOC 7
 .Os
 .Sh NAME
 .Dt MDOC 7
 .Os
 .Sh NAME


@@ -304,6 +304,11 @@ Print verbose information.
 \&.El
 .Ed
 .Pp
 \&.El
 .Ed
 .Pp

+List the options in alphabetical order,
+uppercase before lowercase for each letter and
+with no regard to whether an option takes an argument.
+Put digits in ascending order before all letter options.
+.Pp

 Manuals not documenting a command won't include the above fragment.
 .Pp
 Since the
 Manuals not documenting a command won't include the above fragment.
 .Pp
 Since the


@@ -388,7 +393,7 @@ See
 References other manuals with related topics.
 This section should exist for most manuals.
 Cross-references should conventionally be ordered first by section, then
 References other manuals with related topics.
 This section should exist for most manuals.
 Cross-references should conventionally be ordered first by section, then

-alphabetically.
+alphabetically (ignoring case).

 .Pp
 References to other documentation concerning the topic of the manual page,
 for example authoritative books or journal articles, may also be
 .Pp
 References to other documentation concerning the topic of the manual page,
 for example authoritative books or journal articles, may also be


@@ -433,7 +438,7 @@ in the alphabetical
 .Ss Document preamble and NAME section macros
 .Bl -column "Brq, Bro, Brc" description
 .It Sx \&Dd Ta document date: Cm $\&Mdocdate$ | Ar month day , year
 .Ss Document preamble and NAME section macros
 .Bl -column "Brq, Bro, Brc" description
 .It Sx \&Dd Ta document date: Cm $\&Mdocdate$ | Ar month day , year

-.It Sx \&Dt Ta document title: Ar TITLE section Op Ar volume | arch
+.It Sx \&Dt Ta document title: Ar TITLE section Op Ar arch

 .It Sx \&Os Ta operating system version: Op Ar system Op Ar version
 .It Sx \&Nm Ta document name (one argument)
 .It Sx \&Nd Ta document description (one line)
 .It Sx \&Os Ta operating system version: Op Ar system Op Ar version
 .It Sx \&Nm Ta document name (one argument)
 .It Sx \&Nd Ta document description (one line)


@@ -454,6 +459,7 @@ in the alphabetical
 .Op Fl compact
 .It Sx \&D1 Ta indented display (one line)
 .It Sx \&Dl Ta indented literal display (one line)
 .Op Fl compact
 .It Sx \&D1 Ta indented display (one line)
 .It Sx \&Dl Ta indented literal display (one line)

+.It Sx \&Ql Ta in-line literal display: Ql text

 .It Sx \&Bl , \&El Ta list block:
 .Fl Ar type
 .Op Fl width Ar val
 .It Sx \&Bl , \&El Ta list block:
 .Fl Ar type
 .Op Fl width Ar val


@@ -470,10 +476,8 @@ in the alphabetical
 .It Sx \&Ap Ta apostrophe without surrounding whitespace (no arguments)
 .It Sx \&Sm Ta switch horizontal spacing mode: Op Cm on | off
 .It Sx \&Bk , \&Ek Ta keep block: Fl words
 .It Sx \&Ap Ta apostrophe without surrounding whitespace (no arguments)
 .It Sx \&Sm Ta switch horizontal spacing mode: Op Cm on | off
 .It Sx \&Bk , \&Ek Ta keep block: Fl words

-.It Sx \&br Ta force output line break in text mode (no arguments)
-.It Sx \&sp Ta force vertical space: Op Ar height

 .El
 .El

-.Ss Semantic markup for command line utilities:
+.Ss Semantic markup for command line utilities

 .Bl -column "Brq, Bro, Brc" description
 .It Sx \&Nm Ta start a SYNOPSIS block with the name of a utility
 .It Sx \&Fl Ta command line options (flags) (>=0 arguments)
 .Bl -column "Brq, Bro, Brc" description
 .It Sx \&Nm Ta start a SYNOPSIS block with the name of a utility
 .It Sx \&Fl Ta command line options (flags) (>=0 arguments)


@@ -484,7 +488,7 @@ in the alphabetical
 .It Sx \&Ev Ta environmental variable (>0 arguments)
 .It Sx \&Pa Ta file system path (>=0 arguments)
 .El
 .It Sx \&Ev Ta environmental variable (>0 arguments)
 .It Sx \&Pa Ta file system path (>=0 arguments)
 .El

-.Ss Semantic markup for function libraries:
+.Ss Semantic markup for function libraries

 .Bl -column "Brq, Bro, Brc" description
 .It Sx \&Lb Ta function library (one argument)
 .It Sx \&In Ta include file (one argument)
 .Bl -column "Brq, Bro, Brc" description
 .It Sx \&Lb Ta function library (one argument)
 .It Sx \&In Ta include file (one argument)


@@ -505,7 +509,7 @@ in the alphabetical
 .It Sx \&Er Ta error constant (>0 arguments)
 .It Sx \&Ev Ta environmental variable (>0 arguments)
 .El
 .It Sx \&Er Ta error constant (>0 arguments)
 .It Sx \&Ev Ta environmental variable (>0 arguments)
 .El

-.Ss Various semantic markup:
+.Ss Various semantic markup

 .Bl -column "Brq, Bro, Brc" description
 .It Sx \&An Ta author name (>0 arguments)
 .It Sx \&Lk Ta hyperlink: Ar uri Op Ar name
 .Bl -column "Brq, Bro, Brc" description
 .It Sx \&An Ta author name (>0 arguments)
 .It Sx \&Lk Ta hyperlink: Ar uri Op Ar name


@@ -528,7 +532,6 @@ in the alphabetical
 .It Sx \&Dq , \&Do , \&Dc Ta enclose in typographic double quotes: Dq text
 .It Sx \&Qq , \&Qo , \&Qc Ta enclose in typewriter double quotes: Qq text
 .It Sx \&Sq , \&So , \&Sc Ta enclose in single quotes: Sq text
 .It Sx \&Dq , \&Do , \&Dc Ta enclose in typographic double quotes: Dq text
 .It Sx \&Qq , \&Qo , \&Qc Ta enclose in typewriter double quotes: Qq text
 .It Sx \&Sq , \&So , \&Sc Ta enclose in single quotes: Sq text

-.It Sx \&Ql Ta single-quoted literal text: Ql text

 .It Sx \&Pq , \&Po , \&Pc Ta enclose in parentheses: Pq text
 .It Sx \&Bq , \&Bo , \&Bc Ta enclose in square brackets: Bq text
 .It Sx \&Brq , \&Bro , \&Brc Ta enclose in curly braces: Brq text
 .It Sx \&Pq , \&Po , \&Pc Ta enclose in parentheses: Pq text
 .It Sx \&Bq , \&Bo , \&Bc Ta enclose in square brackets: Bq text
 .It Sx \&Brq , \&Bro , \&Brc Ta enclose in curly braces: Brq text


@@ -671,12 +674,10 @@ Examples:
 .Ss \&Ao
 Begin a block enclosed by angle brackets.
 Does not have any head arguments.
 .Ss \&Ao
 Begin a block enclosed by angle brackets.
 Does not have any head arguments.

-.Pp
-Examples:
-.Dl \&.Fl -key= \&Ns \&Ao \&Ar val \&Ac
-.Pp
-See also
-.Sx \&Aq .
+This macro is almost never useful.
+See
+.Sx \&Aq
+for more details.

 .Ss \&Ap
 Inserts an apostrophe without any surrounding whitespace.
 This is generally used as a grammatical device when referring to the verb
 .Ss \&Ap
 Inserts an apostrophe without any surrounding whitespace.
 This is generally used as a grammatical device when referring to the verb


@@ -686,19 +687,45 @@ Examples:
 .Dl \&.Fn execve \&Ap d
 .Ss \&Aq
 Encloses its arguments in angle brackets.
 .Dl \&.Fn execve \&Ap d
 .Ss \&Aq
 Encloses its arguments in angle brackets.

+The only important use case is for email addresses.
+See
+.Sx \&Mt
+for an example.

 .Pp
 .Pp

-Examples:
-.Dl \&.Fl -key= \&Ns \&Aq \&Ar val
+Occasionally, it is used for names of characters and keys, for example:
+.Bd -literal -offset indent
+Press the
+\&.Aq escape
+key to ...
+.Ed

 .Pp
 .Pp

-.Em Remarks :
-this macro is often abused for rendering URIs, which should instead use
+For URIs, use

 .Sx \&Lk
 .Sx \&Lk

+instead, and
+.Sx \&In
+for
+.Dq #include
+directives.
+Never wrap
+.Sx \&Ar
+in
+.Sx \&Aq .
+.Pp
+Since
+.Sx \&Aq
+usually renders with non-ASCII characters in non-ASCII output modes,
+do not use it where the ASCII characters
+.Sq <
+and
+.Sq >
+are required as syntax elements.
+Instead, use these characters directly in such cases, combining them
+with the macros
+.Sx \&Pf ,
+.Sx \&Ns ,

 or
 or

-.Sx \&Mt ,
-or to note pre-processor
-.Dq Li #include
-statements, which should use
-.Sx \&In .
+.Sx \&Eo
+as needed.

 .Pp
 See also
 .Sx \&Ao .
 .Pp
 See also
 .Sx \&Ao .


@@ -732,7 +759,7 @@ A version of
 .At .
 .It Cm III
 .At III .
 .At .
 .It Cm III
 .At III .

-.It Cm V[.[1-4]]?
+.It Cm V | V.[1-4]

 A version of
 .At V .
 .El
 A version of
 .At V .
 .El


@@ -777,7 +804,7 @@ The
 must be one of the following:
 .Bl -tag -width 13n -offset indent
 .It Fl centered
 must be one of the following:
 .Bl -tag -width 13n -offset indent
 .It Fl centered

-Produce one output line from each input line, and centre-justify each line.
+Produce one output line from each input line, and center-justify each line.

 Using this display type is not recommended; many
 .Nm
 implementations render it poorly.
 Using this display type is not recommended; many
 .Nm
 implementations render it poorly.


@@ -822,7 +849,7 @@ which has no effect;
 .Cm right ,
 which justifies to the right margin; or
 .Cm center ,
 .Cm right ,
 which justifies to the right margin; or
 .Cm center ,

-which aligns around an imagined centre axis.
+which aligns around an imagined center axis.

 .It
 A macro invocation, which selects a predefined width
 associated with that macro.
 .It
 A macro invocation, which selects a predefined width
 associated with that macro.


@@ -937,8 +964,11 @@ The
 .Fl width
 and
 .Fl offset
 .Fl width
 and
 .Fl offset

-arguments accept scaling widths as described in
-.Xr roff 7
+arguments accept macro names as described for
+.Sx \&Bd
+.Fl offset ,
+scaling widths as described in
+.Xr roff 7 ,

 or use the length of the given string.
 The
 .Fl offset
 or use the length of the given string.
 The
 .Fl offset


@@ -966,10 +996,8 @@ argument.
 A columnated list.
 The
 .Fl width
 A columnated list.
 The
 .Fl width

-argument has no effect; instead, each argument specifies the width
-of one column, using either the scaling width syntax described in
-.Xr roff 7
-or the string length of the argument.
+argument has no effect; instead, the string length of each argument
+specifies the width of one column.

 If the first line of the body of a
 .Fl column
 list is not an
 If the first line of the body of a
 .Fl column
 list is not an


@@ -1182,13 +1210,12 @@ See also
 and
 .Sx \&Dl .
 .Ss \&Db
 and
 .Sx \&Dl .
 .Ss \&Db

-Switch debugging mode.
-Its syntax is as follows:
-.Pp
-.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Db Cm on | off
-.Pp
-This macro is ignored by
-.Xr mandoc 1 .
+This macro is obsolete.
+No replacement is needed.
+It is ignored by
+.Xr mandoc 1
+and groff including its arguments.
+It was formerly used to toggle a debugging mode.

 .Ss \&Dc
 Close a
 .Sx \&Do
 .Ss \&Dc
 Close a
 .Sx \&Do


@@ -1207,7 +1234,7 @@ The
 .Ar month
 is the full English month name, the
 .Ar day
 .Ar month
 is the full English month name, the
 .Ar day

-is an optionally zero-padded numeral, and the
+is an integer number, and the

 .Ar year
 is the full four-digit year.
 .Pp
 .Ar year
 is the full four-digit year.
 .Pp


@@ -1237,15 +1264,15 @@ If no date string is given, the current date is used.
 .Pp
 Examples:
 .Dl \&.Dd $\&Mdocdate$
 .Pp
 Examples:
 .Dl \&.Dd $\&Mdocdate$

-.Dl \&.Dd $\&Mdocdate: July 21 2007$
-.Dl \&.Dd July 21, 2007
+.Dl \&.Dd $\&Mdocdate: July 2 2018$
+.Dl \&.Dd July 2, 2018

 .Pp
 See also
 .Sx \&Dt
 and
 .Sx \&Os .
 .Ss \&Dl
 .Pp
 See also
 .Sx \&Dt
 and
 .Sx \&Os .
 .Ss \&Dl

-One-line intended display.
+One-line indented display.

 This is formatted as literal text and is useful for commands and
 invocations.
 It is followed by a newline.
 This is formatted as literal text and is useful for commands and
 invocations.
 It is followed by a newline.


@@ -1254,7 +1281,9 @@ Examples:
 .Dl \&.Dl % mandoc mdoc.7 \e(ba less
 .Pp
 See also
 .Dl \&.Dl % mandoc mdoc.7 \e(ba less
 .Pp
 See also

+.Sx \&Ql ,

 .Sx \&Bd
 .Sx \&Bd

+.Fl literal ,

 and
 .Sx \&D1 .
 .Ss \&Do
 and
 .Sx \&D1 .
 .Ss \&Do


@@ -1297,7 +1326,7 @@ Its syntax is as follows:
 .Pf \. Sx \&Dt
 .Ar TITLE
 .Ar section
 .Pf \. Sx \&Dt
 .Ar TITLE
 .Ar section

-.Op Ar volume | arch
+.Op Ar arch

 .Ed
 .Pp
 Its arguments are as follows:
 .Ed
 .Pp
 Its arguments are as follows:


@@ -1312,69 +1341,28 @@ it should by convention be all caps.
 The manual section.
 This may be one of
 .Cm 1
 The manual section.
 This may be one of
 .Cm 1

-.Pq utilities ,
+.Pq General Commands ,

 .Cm 2
 .Cm 2

-.Pq system calls ,
+.Pq System Calls ,

 .Cm 3
 .Cm 3

-.Pq libraries ,
+.Pq Library Functions ,

 .Cm 3p
 .Cm 3p

-.Pq Perl libraries ,
+.Pq Perl Library ,

 .Cm 4
 .Cm 4

-.Pq devices ,
+.Pq Device Drivers ,

 .Cm 5
 .Cm 5

-.Pq file formats ,
+.Pq File Formats ,

 .Cm 6
 .Cm 6

-.Pq games ,
+.Pq Games ,

 .Cm 7
 .Cm 7

-.Pq miscellaneous ,
+.Pq Miscellaneous Information ,

 .Cm 8
 .Cm 8

-.Pq system utilities ,
-.Cm 9
-.Pq kernel functions ,
-.Cm X11
-.Pq X Window System ,
-.Cm X11R6
-.Pq X Window System ,
-.Cm unass
-.Pq unassociated ,
-.Cm local
-.Pq local system ,
-.Cm draft
-.Pq draft manual ,
+.Pq System Manager's Manual ,

 or
 or

-.Cm paper
-.Pq paper .
+.Cm 9
+.Pq Kernel Developer's Manual .

 It should correspond to the manual's filename suffix and defaults to
 the empty string if unspecified.
 It should correspond to the manual's filename suffix and defaults to
 the empty string if unspecified.

-.It Ar volume
-This overrides the volume inferred from
-.Ar section .
-This field is optional, and if specified, must be one of
-.Cm USD
-.Pq users' supplementary documents ,
-.Cm PS1
-.Pq programmers' supplementary documents ,
-.Cm AMD
-.Pq administrators' supplementary documents ,
-.Cm SMM
-.Pq system managers' manuals ,
-.Cm URM
-.Pq users' reference manuals ,
-.Cm PRM
-.Pq programmers' reference manuals ,
-.Cm KM
-.Pq kernel manuals ,
-.Cm IND
-.Pq master index ,
-.Cm MMI
-.Pq master index ,
-.Cm LOCAL
-.Pq local manuals ,
-.Cm LOC
-.Pq local manuals ,
-or
-.Cm CON
-.Pq contributed manuals .

 .It Ar arch
 This specifies the machine architecture a manual page applies to,
 where relevant, for example
 .It Ar arch
 This specifies the machine architecture a manual page applies to,
 where relevant, for example


@@ -1383,17 +1371,11 @@ where relevant, for example
 .Cm i386 ,
 or
 .Cm sparc64 .
 .Cm i386 ,
 or
 .Cm sparc64 .

-The list of supported architectures varies by operating system.
-For the full list of all architectures recognized by
-.Xr mandoc 1 ,
-see the file
-.Pa arch.in
-in the source distribution.
+The list of valid architectures varies by operating system.

 .El
 .Pp
 Examples:
 .Dl \&.Dt FOO 1
 .El
 .Pp
 Examples:
 .Dl \&.Dt FOO 1

-.Dl \&.Dt FOO 4 KM

 .Dl \&.Dt FOO 9 i386
 .Pp
 See also
 .Dl \&.Dt FOO 9 i386
 .Pp
 See also


@@ -1570,7 +1552,7 @@ arguments are treated as separate utilities.
 See also
 .Sx \&Rv .
 .Ss \&Fa
 See also
 .Sx \&Rv .
 .Ss \&Fa

-Function argument.
+Function argument or parameter.

 Its syntax is as follows:
 .Bd -ragged -offset indent
 .Pf \. Sx \&Fa
 Its syntax is as follows:
 .Bd -ragged -offset indent
 .Pf \. Sx \&Fa


@@ -1665,7 +1647,7 @@ See also
 A function name.
 Its syntax is as follows:
 .Bd -ragged -offset indent
 A function name.
 Its syntax is as follows:
 .Bd -ragged -offset indent

-.Pf \. Ns Sx \&Fn
+.Pf . Sx \&Fn

 .Op Ar functype
 .Ar funcname
 .Op Oo Ar argtype Oc Ar argname
 .Op Ar functype
 .Ar funcname
 .Op Oo Ar argtype Oc Ar argname


@@ -1801,17 +1783,18 @@ is preferred for displaying code; the
 .Sx \&Ic
 macro is used when referring to specific instructions.
 .Ss \&In
 .Sx \&Ic
 macro is used when referring to specific instructions.
 .Ss \&In

-An
-.Dq include
-file.
+The name of an include file.
+This macro is most often used in section 2, 3, and 9 manual pages.
+.Pp

 When invoked as the first macro on an input line in the
 .Em SYNOPSIS
 section, the argument is displayed in angle brackets
 and preceded by
 When invoked as the first macro on an input line in the
 .Em SYNOPSIS
 section, the argument is displayed in angle brackets
 and preceded by

-.Dq #include ,
+.Qq #include ,

 and a blank line is inserted in front if there is a preceding
 function declaration.
 and a blank line is inserted in front if there is a preceding
 function declaration.

-This is most often used in section 2, 3, and 9 manual pages.
+In other sections, it only encloses its argument in angle brackets
+and causes no line break.

 .Pp
 Examples:
 .Dl \&.In sys/types.h
 .Pp
 Examples:
 .Dl \&.In sys/types.h


@@ -1868,31 +1851,43 @@ The
 list is the most complicated.
 Its syntax is as follows:
 .Pp
 list is the most complicated.
 Its syntax is as follows:
 .Pp

-.D1 Pf \. Sx \&It Ar cell Op <TAB> Ar cell ...

 .D1 Pf \. Sx \&It Ar cell Op Sx \&Ta Ar cell ...
 .D1 Pf \. Sx \&It Ar cell Op Sx \&Ta Ar cell ...

+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&It Ar cell Op <TAB> Ar cell ...

 .Pp
 The arguments consist of one or more lines of text and macros
 representing a complete table line.
 .Pp
 The arguments consist of one or more lines of text and macros
 representing a complete table line.

-Cells within the line are delimited by tabs or by the special
+Cells within the line are delimited by the special

 .Sx \&Ta
 .Sx \&Ta

-block macro.
+block macro or by literal tab characters.
+.Pp
+Using literal tabs is strongly discouraged because they are very
+hard to use correctly and
+.Nm
+code using them is very hard to read.
+In particular, a blank character is syntactically significant
+before and after the literal tab character.
+If a word precedes or follows the tab without an intervening blank,
+that word is never interpreted as a macro call, but always output
+literally.
+.Pp

 The tab cell delimiter may only be used within the
 .Sx \&It
 line itself; on following lines, only the
 .Sx \&Ta
 The tab cell delimiter may only be used within the
 .Sx \&It
 line itself; on following lines, only the
 .Sx \&Ta

-macro can be used to delimit cells, and
+macro can be used to delimit cells, and portability requires that

 .Sx \&Ta
 .Sx \&Ta

-is only recognised as a macro when called by other macros,
-not as the first macro on a line.
+is called by other macros: some parsers do not recognize it when
+it appears as the first macro on a line.

 .Pp
 Note that quoted strings may span tab-delimited cells on an
 .Sx \&It
 line.
 For example,
 .Pp
 .Pp
 Note that quoted strings may span tab-delimited cells on an
 .Sx \&It
 line.
 For example,
 .Pp

-.Dl .It \(dqcol1 ; <TAB> col2 ;\(dq \&;
+.Dl .It \(dqcol1 ,\& <TAB> col2 ,\(dq \&;

 .Pp
 .Pp

-will preserve the semicolon whitespace except for the last.
+will preserve the whitespace before both commas,
+but not the whitespace before the semicolon.

 .Pp
 See also
 .Sx \&Bl .
 .Pp
 See also
 .Sx \&Bl .


@@ -1972,11 +1967,9 @@ Examples:
 .Dl \&.An Kristaps Dzonsons \&Aq \&Mt kristaps@bsd.lv
 .Ss \&Nd
 A one line description of the manual's content.
 .Dl \&.An Kristaps Dzonsons \&Aq \&Mt kristaps@bsd.lv
 .Ss \&Nd
 A one line description of the manual's content.

-This may only be invoked in the
-.Em SYNOPSIS
-section subsequent the
-.Sx \&Nm
-macro.
+This is the mandatory last macro of the
+.Em NAME
+section and not appropriate for other sections.

 .Pp
 Examples:
 .Dl Pf . Sx \&Nd mdoc language reference
 .Pp
 Examples:
 .Dl Pf . Sx \&Nd mdoc language reference


@@ -2133,8 +2126,16 @@ Its syntax is as follows:
 The optional
 .Ar system
 parameter specifies the relevant operating system or environment.
 The optional
 .Ar system
 parameter specifies the relevant operating system or environment.

-Left unspecified, it defaults to the local operating system version.
-This is the suggested form.
+It is suggested to leave it unspecified, in which case
+.Xr mandoc 1
+uses its
+.Fl Ios
+argument or, if that isn't specified either,
+.Fa sysname
+and
+.Fa release
+as returned by
+.Xr uname 3 .

 .Pp
 Examples:
 .Dl \&.Os
 .Pp
 Examples:
 .Dl \&.Os


@@ -2191,19 +2192,23 @@ See also
 Close parenthesised context opened by
 .Sx \&Po .
 .Ss \&Pf
 Close parenthesised context opened by
 .Sx \&Po .
 .Ss \&Pf

-Removes the space between its argument
-.Pq Dq prefix
-and the following macro.
+Removes the space between its argument and the following macro.

 Its syntax is as follows:
 .Pp
 .D1 .Pf Ar prefix macro arguments ...
 .Pp
 This is equivalent to:
 .Pp
 Its syntax is as follows:
 .Pp
 .D1 .Pf Ar prefix macro arguments ...
 .Pp
 This is equivalent to:
 .Pp

-.D1 .No Ar prefix No \&Ns Ar macro arguments ...
+.D1 .No \e& Ns Ar prefix No \&Ns Ar macro arguments ...
+.Pp
+The
+.Ar prefix
+argument is not parsed for macro names or delimiters,
+but used verbatim as if it were escaped.

 .Pp
 Examples:
 .Dl ".Pf $ Ar variable_name"
 .Pp
 Examples:
 .Dl ".Pf $ Ar variable_name"

+.Dl ".Pf . Ar macro_name"

 .Dl ".Pf 0x Ar hex_digits"
 .Pp
 See also
 .Dl ".Pf 0x Ar hex_digits"
 .Pp
 See also


@@ -2238,11 +2243,21 @@ See also
 Close quoted context opened by
 .Sx \&Qo .
 .Ss \&Ql
 Close quoted context opened by
 .Sx \&Qo .
 .Ss \&Ql

-Format a single-quoted literal.
+In-line literal display.
+This can for example be used for complete command invocations and
+for multi-word code fragments when more specific markup is not
+appropriate and an indented display is not desired.
+While
+.Xr mandoc 1
+always encloses the arguments in single quotes, other formatters
+usually omit the quotes on non-terminal output devices when the
+arguments have three or more characters.
+.Pp

 See also
 See also

-.Sx \&Qq
+.Sx \&Dl

 and
 and

-.Sx \&Sq .
+.Sx \&Bd
+.Fl literal .

 .Ss \&Qo
 Multi-line version of
 .Sx \&Qq .
 .Ss \&Qo
 Multi-line version of
 .Sx \&Qq .


@@ -2293,7 +2308,7 @@ Examples:
 \&.%A J. D. Ullman
 \&.%B Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages, and Computation
 \&.%I Addison-Wesley
 \&.%A J. D. Ullman
 \&.%B Introduction to Automata Theory, Languages, and Computation
 \&.%I Addison-Wesley

-\&.%C Reading, Massachusettes
+\&.%C Reading, Massachusetts

 \&.%D 1979
 \&.Re
 .Ed
 \&.%D 1979
 \&.Re
 .Ed


@@ -2429,8 +2444,6 @@ The original C standard.
 .Pp
 .It \-isoC-99
 .St -isoC-99
 .Pp
 .It \-isoC-99
 .St -isoC-99

-.It \-ansiC-99
-.St -ansiC-99

 .br
 The second major version of the C language standard.
 .Pp
 .br
 The second major version of the C language standard.
 .Pp


@@ -2530,9 +2543,6 @@ The following three refer to parts of it.
 .br
 Networking APIs, including sockets.
 .Pp
 .br
 Networking APIs, including sockets.
 .Pp

-.It \-xpg4.3
-.St -xpg4.3
-.Pp

 .It \-svid4
 .St -svid4 ,
 .br
 .It \-svid4
 .St -svid4 ,
 .br


@@ -2559,36 +2569,12 @@ The following refer to parts of it.
 .Pp
 .It \-xns5
 .St -xns5
 .Pp
 .It \-xns5
 .St -xns5

-.It \-xns5.2d2.0
-.St -xns5.2d2.0

 .It \-xns5.2
 .St -xns5.2
 .It \-xns5.2
 .St -xns5.2

-.Pp
-.It \-p1387.2
-.St -p1387.2
-.It \-p1387.2-95
-.St -p1387.2-95
-.br
-POSIX software administration.

 .El
 .El

-.It Single UNIX Specification version 3 and related standards
-.Pp
-.Bl -tag -width "-p1003.1g-2000X" -compact
-.It \-p1003.1d-99
-.St -p1003.1d-99
-.br
-Additional real-time extensions.
-.Pp
-.It \-p1003.1j-2000
-.St -p1003.1j-2000
-.br
-Advanced real-time extensions.
-.Pp
-.It \-p1003.1q-2000
-.St -p1003.1q-2000
-.br
-Amendment 7: Tracing [C Language].
+.It Single UNIX Specification version 3

 .Pp
 .Pp

+.Bl -tag -width "-p1003.1-2001" -compact

 .It \-p1003.1-2001
 .St -p1003.1-2001
 .It \-susv3
 .It \-p1003.1-2001
 .St -p1003.1-2001
 .It \-susv3


@@ -2613,11 +2599,6 @@ The second and last Technical Corrigendum.
 .br
 This standard is also called
 X/Open Portability Guide version 7.
 .br
 This standard is also called
 X/Open Portability Guide version 7.

-.Pp
-.It \-p1003.1-2013
-.St -p1003.1-2013
-.br
-This is the first Technical Corrigendum.

 .El
 .It Other standards
 .Pp
 .El
 .It Other standards
 .Pp


@@ -2704,8 +2685,17 @@ A variable name.
 Examples:
 .Dl \&.Va foo
 .Dl \&.Va const char *bar ;
 Examples:
 .Dl \&.Va foo
 .Dl \&.Va const char *bar ;

+.Pp
+For function arguments and parameters, use
+.Sx \&Fa
+instead.
+For declarations of global variables in the
+.Em SYNOPSIS
+section, use
+.Sx \&Vt .

 .Ss \&Vt
 A variable type.
 .Ss \&Vt
 A variable type.

+.Pp

 This is also used for indicating global variables in the
 .Em SYNOPSIS
 section, in which case a variable name is also specified.
 This is also used for indicating global variables in the
 .Em SYNOPSIS
 section, in which case a variable name is also specified.


@@ -2720,18 +2710,21 @@ In the former case, this macro starts a new output line,
 and a blank line is inserted in front if there is a preceding
 function definition or include directive.
 .Pp
 and a blank line is inserted in front if there is a preceding
 function definition or include directive.
 .Pp

-Note that this should not be confused with
-.Sx \&Ft ,
-which is used for function return types.
-.Pp

 Examples:
 .Dl \&.Vt unsigned char
 .Dl \&.Vt extern const char * const sys_signame[] \&;
 .Pp
 Examples:
 .Dl \&.Vt unsigned char
 .Dl \&.Vt extern const char * const sys_signame[] \&;
 .Pp

+For parameters in function prototypes, use
+.Sx \&Fa
+instead, for function return types
+.Sx \&Ft ,
+and for variable names outside the
+.Em SYNOPSIS
+section
+.Sx \&Va ,
+even when including a type with the name.

 See also
 See also

-.Sx MANUAL STRUCTURE
-and
-.Sx \&Va .
+.Sx MANUAL STRUCTURE .

 .Ss \&Xc
 Close a scope opened by
 .Sx \&Xo .
 .Ss \&Xc
 Close a scope opened by
 .Sx \&Xo .


@@ -2748,42 +2741,18 @@ Link to another manual
 .Pq Qq cross-reference .
 Its syntax is as follows:
 .Pp
 .Pq Qq cross-reference .
 Its syntax is as follows:
 .Pp

-.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Xr Ar name Op section
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&Xr Ar name section

 .Pp
 Cross reference the
 .Ar name
 and
 .Ar section
 .Pp
 Cross reference the
 .Ar name
 and
 .Ar section

-number of another man page;
-omitting the section number is rarely useful.
+number of another man page.

 .Pp
 Examples:
 .Dl \&.Xr mandoc 1
 .Dl \&.Xr mandoc 1 \&;
 .Dl \&.Xr mandoc 1 \&Ns s behaviour
 .Pp
 Examples:
 .Dl \&.Xr mandoc 1
 .Dl \&.Xr mandoc 1 \&;
 .Dl \&.Xr mandoc 1 \&Ns s behaviour

-.Ss \&br
-Emits a line-break.
-This macro should not be used; it is implemented for compatibility with
-historical manuals.
-.Pp
-Consider using
-.Sx \&Pp
-in the event of natural paragraph breaks.
-.Ss \&sp
-Emits vertical space.
-This macro should not be used; it is implemented for compatibility with
-historical manuals.
-Its syntax is as follows:
-.Pp
-.D1 Pf \. Sx \&sp Op Ar height
-.Pp
-The
-.Ar height
-argument is a scaling width as described in
-.Xr roff 7 .
-If unspecified,
-.Sx \&sp
-asserts a single vertical space.

 .Sh MACRO SYNTAX
 The syntax of a macro depends on its classification.
 In this section,
 .Sh MACRO SYNTAX
 The syntax of a macro depends on its classification.
 In this section,


@@ -3067,9 +3036,7 @@ then the macro accepts an arbitrary number of arguments.
 .It Sx \&Ux  Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    n
 .It Sx \&Va  Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    n
 .It Sx \&Vt  Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    >0
 .It Sx \&Ux  Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    n
 .It Sx \&Va  Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    n
 .It Sx \&Vt  Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    >0

-.It Sx \&Xr  Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    >0
-.It Sx \&br  Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    0
-.It Sx \&sp  Ta    \&No     Ta    \&No     Ta    1
+.It Sx \&Xr  Ta    Yes      Ta    Yes      Ta    2

 .El
 .Ss Delimiters
 When a macro argument consists of one single input character
 .El
 .Ss Delimiters
 When a macro argument consists of one single input character


@@ -3087,6 +3054,8 @@ For many macros, when the leading arguments are opening delimiters,
 these delimiters are put before the macro scope,
 and when the trailing arguments are closing delimiters,
 these delimiters are put after the macro scope.
 these delimiters are put before the macro scope,
 and when the trailing arguments are closing delimiters,
 these delimiters are put after the macro scope.

+Spacing is suppressed after opening delimiters
+and before closing delimiters.

 For example,
 .Pp
 .D1 Pf \. \&Aq "( [ word ] ) ."
 For example,
 .Pp
 .D1 Pf \. \&Aq "( [ word ] ) ."


@@ -3143,7 +3112,7 @@ renders as:
 .D1 Fl a ( b | c \*(Ba d ) e
 .Pp
 This applies to both opening and closing delimiters,
 .D1 Fl a ( b | c \*(Ba d ) e
 .Pp
 This applies to both opening and closing delimiters,

-and also to the middle delimiter:
+and also to the middle delimiter, which does not suppress spacing:

 .Pp
 .Bl -tag -width Ds -offset indent -compact
 .It \&|
 .Pp
 .Bl -tag -width Ds -offset indent -compact
 .It \&|


@@ -3175,50 +3144,13 @@ Manually switching the font using the
 font escape sequences is never required.
 .Sh COMPATIBILITY
 This section provides an incomplete list of compatibility issues
 font escape sequences is never required.
 .Sh COMPATIBILITY
 This section provides an incomplete list of compatibility issues

-between mandoc and other troff implementations, at this time limited
-to GNU troff
+between mandoc and GNU troff

 .Pq Qq groff .
 .Pq Qq groff .

-The term
-.Qq historic groff
-refers to groff versions before 1.17,
-which featured a significant update of the
-.Pa doc.tmac
-file.
-.Pp
-Heirloom troff, the other significant troff implementation accepting
-\-mdoc, is similar to historic groff.

 .Pp
 The following problematic behaviour is found in groff:
 .Pp
 The following problematic behaviour is found in groff:

-.ds hist (Historic groff only.)

 .Pp
 .Bl -dash -compact
 .It
 .Pp
 .Bl -dash -compact
 .It

-Display macros
-.Po
-.Sx \&Bd ,
-.Sx \&Dl ,
-and
-.Sx \&D1
-.Pc
-may not be nested.
-\*[hist]
-.It
-.Sx \&At
-with unknown arguments produces no output at all.
-\*[hist]
-Newer groff and mandoc print
-.Qq AT&T UNIX
-and the arguments.
-.It
-.Sx \&Bl Fl column
-does not recognise trailing punctuation characters when they immediately
-precede tabulator characters, but treats them as normal text and
-outputs a space before them.
-.It
-.Sx \&Bd Fl ragged compact
-does not start a new line.
-\*[hist]
-.It

 .Sx \&Dd
 with non-standard arguments behaves very strangely.
 When there are three arguments, they are printed verbatim.
 .Sx \&Dd
 with non-standard arguments behaves very strangely.
 When there are three arguments, they are printed verbatim.


@@ -3227,53 +3159,6 @@ but without any arguments the string
 .Dq Epoch
 is printed.
 .It
 .Dq Epoch
 is printed.
 .It

-.Sx \&Fl
-does not print a dash for an empty argument.
-\*[hist]
-.It
-.Sx \&Fn
-does not start a new line unless invoked as the line macro in the
-.Em SYNOPSIS
-section.
-\*[hist]
-.It
-.Sx \&Fo
-with
-.Pf non- Sx \&Fa
-children causes inconsistent spacing between arguments.
-In mandoc, a single space is always inserted between arguments.
-.It
-.Sx \&Ft
-in the
-.Em SYNOPSIS
-causes inconsistent vertical spacing, depending on whether a prior
-.Sx \&Fn
-has been invoked.
-See
-.Sx \&Ft
-and
-.Sx \&Fn
-for the normalised behaviour in mandoc.
-.It
-.Sx \&In
-ignores additional arguments and is not treated specially in the
-.Em SYNOPSIS .
-\*[hist]
-.It
-.Sx \&It
-sometimes requires a
-.Fl nested
-flag.
-\*[hist]
-In new groff and mandoc, any list may be nested by default and
-.Fl enum
-lists will restart the sequence only for the sub-list.
-.It
-.Sx \&Li
-followed by a delimiter is incorrectly used in some manuals
-instead of properly quoting that character, which sometimes works with
-historic groff.
-.It

 .Sx \&Lk
 only accepts a single link-name argument; the remainder is misformatted.
 .It
 .Sx \&Lk
 only accepts a single link-name argument; the remainder is misformatted.
 .It


@@ -3287,19 +3172,6 @@ can only be called by other macros, but not at the beginning of a line.
 .Sx \&%C
 is not implemented (up to and including groff-1.22.2).
 .It
 .Sx \&%C
 is not implemented (up to and including groff-1.22.2).
 .It

-Historic groff only allows up to eight or nine arguments per macro input
-line, depending on the exact situation.
-Providing more arguments causes garbled output.
-The number of arguments on one input line is not limited with mandoc.
-.It
-Historic groff has many un-callable macros.
-Most of these (excluding some block-level macros) are callable
-in new groff and mandoc.
-.It
-.Sq \(ba
-(vertical bar) is not fully supported as a delimiter.
-\*[hist]
-.It

 .Sq \ef
 .Pq font face
 and
 .Sq \ef
 .Pq font face
 and


@@ -3317,13 +3189,27 @@ The following features are unimplemented in mandoc:
 .Bl -dash -compact
 .It
 .Sx \&Bd
 .Bl -dash -compact
 .It
 .Sx \&Bd

-.Fl file Ar file .
+.Fl file Ar file
+is unsupported for security reasons.
+.It
+.Sx \&Bd
+.Fl filled
+does not adjust the right margin, but is an alias for
+.Sx \&Bd
+.Fl ragged .
+.It
+.Sx \&Bd
+.Fl literal
+does not use a literal font, but is an alias for
+.Sx \&Bd
+.Fl unfilled .

 .It
 .Sx \&Bd
 .Fl offset Cm center
 and
 .It
 .Sx \&Bd
 .Fl offset Cm center
 and

-.Fl offset Cm right .
-Groff does not implement centred and flush-right rendering either,
+.Fl offset Cm right
+don't work.
+Groff does not implement centered and flush-right rendering either,

 but produces large indentations.
 .El
 .Sh SEE ALSO
 but produces large indentations.
 .El
 .Sh SEE ALSO


@@ -3334,6 +3220,12 @@ but produces large indentations.
 .Xr mandoc_char 7 ,
 .Xr roff 7 ,
 .Xr tbl 7
 .Xr mandoc_char 7 ,
 .Xr roff 7 ,
 .Xr tbl 7

+.Pp
+The web page
+.Lk http://mandoc.bsd.lv/mdoc/ "extended documentation for the mdoc language"
+provides a few tutorial-style pages for beginners, an extensive style
+guide for advanced authors, and an alphabetic index helping to choose
+the best macros for various kinds of content.

 .Sh HISTORY
 The
 .Nm
 .Sh HISTORY
 The
 .Nm