-.\" $Id: man.7,v 1.74 2010/05/26 14:03:54 kristaps Exp $
+.\" $Id: man.7,v 1.88 2010/09/04 17:22:41 kristaps Exp $
.\"
-.\" Copyright (c) 2009 Kristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@bsd.lv>
+.\" Copyright (c) 2009, 2010 Kristaps Dzonsons <kristaps@bsd.lv>
.\"
.\" Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any
.\" purpose with or without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above
.\" 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 26 2010 $
+.Dd $Mdocdate: September 4 2010 $
.Dt MAN 7
.Os
.Sh NAME
.Xr mdoc 7
language, instead.
.Pp
-An
+A
.Nm
document follows simple rules: lines beginning with the control
character
.Sh INPUT ENCODING
.Nm
documents may contain only graphable 7-bit ASCII characters, the
-space character, and the tabs character.
+space character, and the tab character.
All manuals must have
.Ux
line termination.
vertical space.
.Ss Comments
Text following a
-.Sq \e\*" ,
+.Sq \e\*q ,
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" ,
+.Sq \&.\e\*q ,
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), R (Roman), or P
+escape followed by an indicator: B (bold), I (italic), R (Roman), or P
(revert to previous mode):
.Pp
.D1 \efBbold\efR \efIitalic\efP
.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
+The
.Sq \ef
-attributes are forgotten when entering or exiting a macro block.
+attribute is forgotten when entering or exiting a macro block.
.Ss Whitespace
Whitespace consists of the space character.
-In free-form lines, whitespace is preserved within a line; un-escaped
+In free-form lines, whitespace is preserved within a line; unescaped
trailing spaces are stripped from input (unless in a literal context).
Blank free-form lines, which may include spaces, are permitted and
rendered as an empty line.
which, if a unit is not provided, will instead interpret the string as
literal text.
.Ss Sentence Spacing
-When composing a manual, make sure that your sentences end at the end of
+When composing a manual, make sure that 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 \&) ,
+delimiters
+.Po
+.Sq \&) ,
.Sq \&] ,
.Sq \&' ,
-.Sq \&" ) .
+.Sq \&"
+.Pc .
.Sh MANUAL STRUCTURE
Each
.Nm
-document must contain contains at least the
+document must contain the
.Sx \&TH
macro describing the document's section and title.
-It may occur anywhere in the document, although conventionally, it
+It may occur anywhere in the document, although conventionally it
appears as the first macro.
.Pp
Beyond
Documents are generally structured as follows:
.Bd -literal -offset indent
\&.TH FOO 1 2009-10-10
-\&.
\&.SH NAME
\efBfoo\efR \e(en a description goes here
-\&.\e\*q The next is for sections 2 & 3 only.
\&.\e\*q .SH LIBRARY
-\&.
+\&.\e\*q For sections 2 & 3 only.
+\&.\e\*q Not used in OpenBSD.
\&.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 2, 3, & 9 only.
\&.\e\*q .SH RETURN VALUES
-\&.\e\*q The next is for sections 1, 6, 7, & 8 only.
+\&.\e\*q For sections 2, 3, & 9 only.
\&.\e\*q .SH ENVIRONMENT
+\&.\e\*q For sections 1, 6, 7, & 8 only.
\&.\e\*q .SH FILES
-\&.\e\*q The next is for sections 1 & 8 only.
\&.\e\*q .SH EXIT STATUS
+\&.\e\*q For sections 1, 6 & 8 only.
\&.\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 For sections 1, 4, 6, 7, & 8 only.
\&.\e\*q .SH ERRORS
+\&.\e\*q For sections 2, 3, & 9 only.
\&.\e\*q .SH SEE ALSO
\&.\e\*q .BR foo ( 1 )
\&.\e\*q .SH STANDARDS
\&.\e\*q .SH CAVEATS
\&.\e\*q .SH BUGS
\&.\e\*q .SH SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
+\&.\e\*q Not used in OpenBSD.
.Ed
.Pp
The sections in a
This is useful when implementing standard functions that may have side
effects or notable algorithmic implications.
.It Em RETURN VALUES
-This section is the dual of
-.Em EXIT STATUS ,
-which is used for commands.
-It documents the return values of functions in sections 2, 3, and 9.
+This section documents the return values of functions in sections 2, 3, and 9.
.It Em ENVIRONMENT
Documents any usages of environment variables, e.g.,
.Xr environ 7 .
.It Em FILES
Documents files used.
-It's helpful to document both the file and a short description of how
+It's helpful to document both the file name and a short description of how
the file is used (created, modified, etc.).
.It Em EXIT STATUS
-Command exit status for section 1, 6, and 8 manuals.
-This section is the dual of
-.Em RETURN VALUES ,
-which is used for functions.
+This section documents the command exit status for
+section 1, 6, and 8 utilities.
Historically, this information was described in
.Em DIAGNOSTICS ,
a practise that is now discouraged.
Example usages.
This often contains snippets of well-formed,
well-tested invocations.
-Make doubly sure that your examples work properly!
+Make sure that examples work properly!
.It Em DIAGNOSTICS
Documents error conditions.
This is most useful in section 4 manuals.
.Em HISTORY
section should be used.
.It Em HISTORY
-The history of any manual without a
-.Em STANDARDS
-section should be described in this section.
+A brief history of the subject, including where support first appeared.
.It Em AUTHORS
-Credits to authors, if applicable, should appear in this section.
-Authors should generally be noted by both name and an e-mail address.
+Credits to the person or persons who wrote the code and/or documentation.
+Authors should generally be noted by both name and email address.
.It Em CAVEATS
-Explanations of common misuses and misunderstandings should be explained
+Common misuses and misunderstandings should be explained
in this section.
.It Em BUGS
-Extant bugs should be described in this section.
+Known bugs, limitations, and work-arounds should be described
+in this section.
.It Em SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
Documents any security precautions that operators should consider.
.El
.Sh MACRO SYNTAX
-Macros are one to three three characters in length and begin with a
-control character ,
+Macros are one to three characters in length and begin with a
+control character,
.Sq \&. ,
at the beginning of the line.
The
.Sq \&.I foo .
If next-line macros are invoked consecutively, only the last is used.
If a next-line macro is followed by a non-next-line macro, an error is
-raised (unless in the case of
+raised, except for
.Sx \&br ,
.Sx \&sp ,
-or
-.Sx \&na ) .
+and
+.Sx \&na .
.Pp
The syntax is as follows:
.Bd -literal -offset indent
.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 \&in Ta 1 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
.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
+Block macros comprise a head and body.
+As with in-line macros, the head is scoped to the current line and, in
one circumstance, the next line (the next-line stipulations as in
.Sx Line Macros
apply here as well).
and
.Sx \&r .
.Ss \&IB
-Text is rendered alternately in italics and bold face. Whitespace
-between arguments is omitted in output.
+Text is rendered alternately in italics and bold face.
+Whitespace between arguments is omitted in output.
.Pp
See
.Sx \&BI
The
.Cm width
argument defines the width of the left margin and is defined by
-.Sx Scaling Widths ,
+.Sx Scaling Widths .
It's saved for later paragraph left-margins; if unspecified, the saved or
default width is used.
.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.
+The saved paragraph left-margin width is reset to the default.
.Pp
See also
.Sx \&HP ,
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.
+The paragraph left-margin width is reset to the default.
.Ss \&SM
Text is rendered in small size (one point smaller than the default
font).
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.
+The paragraph left-margin width is reset to the default.
.Ss \&TH
Sets the title of the manual page with the following syntax:
.Bd -filled -offset indent
.Op Cm date Op Cm source Op Cm volume
.Ed
.Pp
-At least the upper-case document title
+At least the upper-case document
.Cm title
-and numeric manual section
+and the manual
.Cm section
arguments must be provided.
The
.Sx \&b ,
and
.Sx \&r .
+.Ss \&in
+Indent relative to the current indentation:
+.Pp
+.D1 Pf \. Sx \&in Op Cm width
+.Pp
+If
+.Cm width
+is signed, the new offset is relative.
+Otherwise, it is absolute.
+This value is reset upon the next paragraph, section, or sub-section.
.Ss \&na
Don't align to the right margin.
.Ss \&nf
a standalone double-quote in formatted output.
It is not known whether this behaviour is exhibited by other formatters.
.It
+troff suppresses a newline before
+.Sq \(aq
+macro output; in mandoc, it is an alias for the standard
+.Sq \&.
+control character.
+.It
+The
+.Sq \eh
+.Pq horizontal position ,
+.Sq \ev
+.Pq vertical position ,
+.Sq \em
+.Pq text colour ,
+.Sq \eM
+.Pq text filling colour ,
+.Sq \ez
+.Pq zero-length character ,
+.Sq \ew
+.Pq string length ,
+.Sq \ek
+.Pq horizontal position marker ,
+.Sq \eo
+.Pq text overstrike ,
+and
+.Sq \es
+.Pq text size
+escape sequences are all discarded in mandoc.
+.It
+The
+.Sq \ef
+scaling unit is accepted by mandoc, but rendered as the default unit.
+.It
The
.Sx \&sp
macro does not accept negative values in mandoc.
In GNU troff, this would result in strange behaviour.
-.It
-The
-.Sq \(aq
-macro control character, in GNU troff (and prior troffs) suppresses a
-newline before macro output; in mandoc, it is an alias for the standard
-.Sq \&.
-control character.
.El
.Sh SEE ALSO
.Xr mandoc 1 ,
.Xr mandoc_char 7
-.Sh AUTHORS
+.Sh HISTORY
The
.Nm
+language first appeared as a macro package for the roff typesetting
+system in
+.At v7 .
+It was later rewritten by James Clark as a macro package for groff.
+The stand-alone implementation that is part of the
+.Xr mandoc 1
+utility written by Kristaps Dzonsons appeared in
+.Ox 4.6 .
+.Sh AUTHORS
+This
+.Nm
reference was written by
.An Kristaps Dzonsons Aq kristaps@bsd.lv .
.Sh CAVEATS
git.ckatri.com / mandoc.git / blobdiff